


1619 Miles

by iamsnowwhite



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Online Dating, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2016-07-09
Packaged: 2018-04-16 13:15:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 22,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4626594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamsnowwhite/pseuds/iamsnowwhite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke and Bellamy have been dating for six months, and they have never met. In person anyways, they have video chatted more times than either could recall. After one of them, though neither could remember who, accidentally friended the other on Facebook, they started talking and as they say, hit it off instantly. </p><p>Met Online AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Found Out

Clarke sits on her couch, chatting with Raven about nothing (as best friends do), when her phone begins to ring. His favorite song plays so she knows it’s him before she even sees the phone.

“Hang on, I have to take this,” she says, hurrying over to her phone. She then rushes to her bedroom and closes the door behind her. “Hey.”

“Hello there gorgeous,” he says in reply.

“What’s up?”

“Just got off work and I wanted to hear your voice. I’m not interrupting anything am I? Damn I should have texted first...”

“No, no Bellamy you’re fine. I was just hanging out with Raven. I’ll talk to you any time,” Clarke says, feeling herself relax as she talks to him. Everything else melts away and it’s just she and Bellamy.

He laughs, “Who does your friend think you’re talking to this time?”

“She has no idea. I dashed to answer the phone when I heard it was you,” Clarke says, regretting it immediately, knowing he will tease her.

“Oh, ‘dashed’ did you? I’m that important?” he scoffs and she knows he’s smirking. When is he not?

“Yes Mr. Insecurity. You are,” she replies, rolling her eyes.

“Wow, you went there. If I wasn’t miles and miles away from you, you’d pay for that one.”

“How would I pay for it?” she asks, lowering her voice.

“Oh you know.”

“Say it.”

“I can’t. Miller will hear. And he does not like straight people sex. Geez Clarke, you think you’d know these things by now,” he jokes.

“And who does your roommate think you’re talking to?”

“My girlfriend. He’s not close minded like your friends. He does not care that I met my girlfriend online.”

She sighs, “Yeah well...”

Clarke and Bellamy have been dating for six months, and they have never met. In person anyways, they have video chatted more times than either could recall.

After one of them, though neither could remember who, accidentally friended the other on facebook, they started talking and as they say, hit it off instantly.

Clarke decided not to tell her friends about Bellamy because she knew what they would say. They would tell her that he is come creep who doesn’t actually care about her. But he does. She’s found someone who she actually likes and is attracted to. She won’t let them ruin that. She won’t let them talk about Bellamy like that.

“Hey, I’m uhh, I’m sorry. That was asshole of me,” he says, sensing that her feelings are hurt.

It wasn’t what he said that made Clarke feel bad. She feels bad that she’s keeping him a secret. She would hate it if someone she was dating didn’t shout it at the top of a mountain for all to hear. But she’s not ready for her friends to know. And that’s what hurts.  

“You’re always an asshole.”

“True, very true,” he says. “But I am your asshole. Wait, no. Don’t-”

“Too late!” she says, laughing loudly. “Just stop talking before you manage to put your entire foot in your mouth.”

“Ok. Your turn. Tell me about your day.”

She sighs, recalling the past few hours of her life, “Boring. Went for a walk to get some inspiration. Nothing. Looked at a picture of you, started drawing like crazy.”

“You’re gonna make me cry, Princess.”

She rolls her eyes, “Hey, I gotta go. My friend is probably getting suspicious. I’ll text you later.”

“Fine, go live your life. I’ll just masterbate and cry all alone in my room,” he says with the dramatic fake sadness that can only come from Bellamy.  

“Shut up.”

He chuckles, “Love you.”

“Love you too.” She hangs up the phone before heading back into her living room. Sitting on the couch as if nothing happened.

“Who was that?” Raven asks, looking at Clarke with narrowed eyes. .

“Gallery Guy,” Clarke responds simply.

“You laugh like that when you talk to your gallery booker?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Raven narrows her eyes even further and glares at Clarke, “Who is he?”

“Who is who?” Clarke looks to her friend with a clueless expression.

“This guy you’re hiding from me. Me, your best friend. Your platonic soulmate.”

“He’s no one.”

“He’s someone, spill Griffin,” Raven says. “I know when you’re hiding something.”

“His name is Bellamy,” Clarke says with a sigh. She looks down to her lap, knowing they’re done for. No turning back now.

“Do I know him,” Raven suddenly perks up.

“Nope.”

“Give me something, Clarke.”

"He has curly hair," Clarke offers with a shrug.

Raven’s glare becomes even more deadly. If that's even possible.

"What? That's something..." Clarke says.

Raven run to the other side of the room and grabs Clarke's phone, goes to her call log, and hits the most recent number. She doesn’t even notice Bellamy’s contact name which is ‘The Belster’ accompanied by the eggplant emoji.

"Callin me back already baby? What, could stand the thought of me masterbating alone?" Bellamy says upon answering.

Clarke slaps her hand to her forehead, knowing this won’t be good.

"Bellamy shut up now please!" she yells.

"What?" he says.

"Bellamy, who the hell are you?" Raven asks.

"Excuse me?" he asks, sounding rather confused.

"Bellamy! Shut up! Raven leave him alone!" Clarke butts in.

"No. Bellamy are you her boyfriend?"

"I'm gonna stay quiet now," he says.

"Raven, Bellamy is my boyfriend. Now hang up the phone."

"Fine," Raven says, doing just that. "What's all the fuss Clarke?"

"We met online."

Raven flashes her a look that she was expecting. One of disgust.

"You stooped that low?"

Clarke snatches her phone back from Raven and sends Bellamy a quick apology text for that call.

"Bellamy is not 'stooping low'. He's great. You don't even know him."

"And you think you do?"

"Yep."

Raven continues talking at her and Clarke stops listening. She begins thinking about ways she could sneak away in the middle of the night. Leave everything behind and go live with Bellamy in New York.

"If I didn't have to go, we would talk more about this." Raven heads for the door.

"Bye Rae," Clarke says.

 ** _Sorry,_** she texts Bellamy.

**_umm i should be the one apologizing. your friend heard my jackin off joke???_ **

**_Yeah... And now she's off to tell all our friends that Clarke is dating an online predator._ **

**_i love you princess_ **

**_ I love you too, Bel.  _ **


	2. Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that the secret is out, Raven and the rest of Clarke's friends confront her about her relationship with Bellamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update! I plan on updating every Friday from now on, unless I feel adventurous and then I will let you guys know if I'm posting two chapters in one week.

By noon the next day, all of Clarke's friends knew about her boyfriend. And she knew they were planning an intervention. She didn't want to hear it, so she got in her car when she promised to meet Raven at her house, and drove the opposite way.

She kept driving and driving until the sky above her was dark but bright with stars. Pulling to the side of the road, she rolled down her windows and turned off the radio. Then she pulled out her phone to call Bellamy.

"Hey, Princess," he says groggily as he answers the phone.

She laughs, "Why are you tired? Isn't it only like ten there?"

“I got up early this morning. Miller wanted me to go running with him.” Bellamy sounds very bitter about this. “What’s up?”

“My friends are holding an intervention for me.”

“Sounds fun... You calling me from the bathroom this time?” he laughs.

“Nope. I ditched them. Raven asked me to come over and I drove the other way.”

“Damn, Princess. That is quite sassy of you.”

She sighs, “Do I need to get better friends? I mean if they don’t approve of someone that makes me happy, are they the kind of friends I need?”

“Don’t overreact, Clarke,” he says gently. “I think you should go hear them out. Calmly explain to them what you feel and let them know that you want to be heard just as much as they do.”

“How are you so good at that?”

“Good at what?”

“Pep talks.”

“Hidden talent,” he tells her.

She laughs before telling him that she should get going if she wants to make it to Raven’s in time to catch all her friends. With a few ‘I love yous’ they get off the phone and Clare starts her drive to Raven’s apartment.

“Where the hell have you been?” Raven asks when she walks in the door.

“Sorry. I didn’t really want to come and hear my friends dog on my boyfriend.”

Clarke sits on the couch, ready to hear them all call Bellamy countless names.

“How did you even meet this guy?” Jasper asks.

“His name is Bellamy, and we met on facebook.”

“How do you even know he’s real?” Monty is next.

“Would you all like me to FaceTime him right now?”

The questions keep coming, and Clarke has an answer to every one. Just as Bellamy told her, she remains calm and allows them to all talk at her. They're just trying to figure this all out, she tells herself. Raven seems mad that Clarke didn't tell her about all this, Monty seems genuinely worried for her, and Jasper is just confused as to why the hell Clarke of all people would settle for someone she met online.

"I'm not settling," she sighs. She's had enough. It's her turn now. "Bellamy is amazing. He is also a bit of an asshole, but he is still the best guy I've ever met. He is passionate and loud and funny. And I love him. So, as my best friends, could you guys be a little supportive?" She looks from Raven, to Monty and then to Jasper. The look on her face is one of desperation and anger.

Raven plops down on the couch beside Clarke and sighs, "We're just worried about you, Clarke. You've seen catfish." Clarke laughs.

"Bellamy is not a catfish. I've seen pictures, and videos, you talked to him."

"He could still be a creeper," Monty reasons as he takes a seat on the loveseat across from the girls. Jasper sits on the floor and places his hand on Clarke's knee as a sign of support.

Clarke offers them a smile, "Well he's not. He's genuine. Do you guys wanna meet him?" They all nod, so she pulls out her phone and calls him. She doesn't put him on speaker because of the whole jacking off incident of yesterday...

"Hey, Princess. How'd everything go?" he asks once he answers the phone.

"Ok, I guess. They want to meet you. Are you up to FaceTime?"

"You're pushing it Princess, you know my bedtime is midnight on school nights," she can hear his smirk.

She rolls her eyes, "Too bad, I'm calling you now." She removes the phone from her ear and presses the FaceTime button, waiting for Bellamy's face to pop up. She doesn't know that he's freaking out on the other end, meeting her friends is a big deal (the smile on her face calms him, however, when her face comes onto his screen).

"Princess," he says, "long time no see."

"Hey Bel," she shifts her phone so the camera is pointed at Raven, "This is my best friend Raven, the one who heard your... joke."

"Great first impression by the way," Raven chimes in, waving to Bellamy.

"Yeah... Certainly not ideal... Sorry about that." Bellamy sighs.

Clarke points the camera at Monty and Jasper, letting them introduce themselves.

"Nice meeting you all," Bellamy tells them with a yawn.

Clarke laughs, "Go to sleep, Professor. Call me tomorrow." Bellamy smiles at her before saying his goodbye and ending the call. Clarke knows she can't breathe easy yet, her friends still haven't given their final judgments.

"He's hot," Monty supplies.

"I agree," Raven says.

"No comment," Jasper tells them.

"On his looks, or in general?" Clarke asks with a laugh. She can't resist putting her friend in a tough spot.

"Looks. He seems pretty cool," Jasper blushes. "Why did he call you 'Princess'?"

Clarke places her hand over her eyes, slightly embarrassed by this story. "When we first met my profile picture was that god awful one of us on Halloween, when I went as a princess and Raven was a chef. The name stuck..."

"Please tell me he is actually a professor and that's not some weird sex thing..." Raven groans.

"Yes he is actually a professor. What kind of sex thing would that even be?"

"Just had to be sure," Raven raises her hands in surrender.

Clarke rolls her eyes with a laugh. Monty finally says that he is glad Clarke is happy, and the others agree. Clarke pulls them into a group hug.

"Thanks guys. It meant a lot that you care this much about me," she says.

\---

Clarke leave Raven's shortly after and gets into her car. Before she drives off, she sends Bellamy a text saying that everything went good and that her friends approve. When he doesn't reply, she assumes he is asleep.

He is such an old man. Bellamy is a man of routine, he goes to bed at midnight every weekday unless he is grading something or planning his lecture. He wakes up every morning at six and is in his classroom by six thirty. While he loves his routine, he is still rather unpredictable, Clarke had learned.

When she returns home, she grabs a quick snack before settling on the couch to watch some tv. Before she knows what happened, she has a pencil in her hand and her sketchbook in her lap. She loses herself in her drawing and doesn't realize the time. Her phone buzzes beside her, pulling her from her trance. She looks at the screen to see a text from Bellamy.

_**I knew they'd like me. I'm so loveable.** _

She then calls him, hoping to talk to him before he leaves for his class.

"What are you doing awake?" he asks.

"Drawing."

"Can I see?" he sounds excited.

"It's not done yet. Right now it's just half a face..."

He hums, "Which half?"

"Right half. The left half might be her skull, I don't know yet."

"That's dark, Princess. I love it."

She laughs and presses the phone between her cheek and her shoulder so her hands are free, "It's a little rough right now. I'll need to transfer it. I'm thinking chalk."

"But you hate chalk."

"I'm trying to grow as an artist," she explains.

"Ah, my bad," she hears a car door closing and an engine starting. "Well I've got to head to work. You need to sleep."

"I'll try."

"I love you, Princess," he tells her.

She smiles, "I love you too. Call me after class."

"Will do," he says before hanging up the phone.

Clarke sighs, looking down to her half finished sketch. She jots down a few notes about where she wanted to go with this piece (she'd made the mistake of not doing that once and ended up confused with a half finished drawing of a tiger with wings) before heading up to bed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy you guys liked the first chapter, let me know what you thought of this one as well. Your comments are much appreciated!  
> Come join me on tumblr if you want @ clarrkesbellamy


	3. Birthday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Clarke's birthday and Bellamy sends her a present.

It is two in the morning Bellamy’s time. Which means it is midnight Clarke’s time. The moment his phone says 2:00 am, he calls her.

“Happy birthday, Princess!” he shouts into the phone.

She laughs, “Thanks, Bel.”

“So what are your plans for the day?” he asks.

“Well Raven says she is taking me out to dinner once she gets off work.”

“That’s it?” he’s shocked.

“You know I don’t like my birthday...”

He sighs, he does know this. When Clarke was younger, she used to celebrate her birthday for the entire month of October. Now, she tries to avoid it as much as possible. Her father was killed just days before her birthday the year she turned 16. She will still celebrate her birthday with friends, but she does it begrudgingly.

“I am still going to make this your best birthday yet,” he tells her.

“Good luck with that," she laughs.

"I sent your present a couple of days ago, so it should get to you soon."

"You don't have to get me anything, Bellamy."

He chuckles, getting out of bed to get himself a glass of water. "Princess I want to. I want to show you how much I love you."

"You didn't put yourself in a box and send that to me, did you?"

"No," he lets out a laugh, "no I didn't. But now that seems like a good idea."

Clarke smiles, "I will love whatever you send me, Bel."

"I hope so."

"I will."

"I love you Princess. You're twenty seven now."

"Good god when did I get that old?" They both laugh. "I'm gonna go to sleep. I'll talk to you when I wake up ok?"

"Alright, get your sleep birthday girl. I love you."

"Love you too," she yawns before hanging up.

Bellamy puts his glass in the dishwasher before going back down the hall to his room. Miller is sound asleep in his room, Bellamy can hear him snoring. After closing his bedroom door, the snoring lessens. He moves the papers from his bed and gets under the covers. Only having four hours to sleep, he decides to skip his usual routine of listening to some music before going to bed.

\---

Clarke's alarm wakes her up at ten. She set one a while back when she felt like waking up at eleven or noon was not productive. It's kind of like a fail-safe alarm.

She has barely gotten dressed and made herself some breakfast when Raven bursts through Clarke's front door.

"Happy birthday!" she screams.

Clarke takes another bite of her cereal, "Thanks, Rae."

"Come on, get excited! I called in from work today so we could hang out!"

"You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did. It is my best friend's birthday!"

"Yeah it happens every year, big deal." Clarke finishes her cereal and washes her bowl in the sink. Raven sits at the kitchen table and Clarke does the same a few moments later. "You have a plan for today, I'm guessing?"

Raven gets a devious smile on her face, "Sure do. Starts with shopping, let's go."

Just then, the doorbell rings. Clarke stands and looks out the peephole, she sees no one there and assumes she's gotten a package.

Opening the door, she sees a large box sitting on her doorstep. She takes the box inside and sits on the couch.

"What's that?" Raven asks, sitting beside her friend.

Clarke smiles, seeing the return address, "It's from Bellamy."

"He sent you a present?"

"He told me he did... I didn't expect it to be this big..."

Raven pulls a pocket knife out of her jeans and uses it to open the box.

There is a letter on top of everything else in the box and Clarke unfolds it to read it.

_Dear Princess,_

_I hope this gets to you on your birthday, but just in case, happy early/late/on time birthday! I hope you have a great day even though you hate birthdays._

_Enclosed is a long distance survival kit. (Don't let Miller know about this because I will never hear the end of it. He already thinks I'm a sappy loser after hearing us facetiming that one time.) Hope you like it._

_Bellamy_

"What happened when you guys FaceTimed?" Raven asks as if she's wary of the upcoming answer.

"We were watching The Notebook together and it made him cry," Clarke says with a laugh.

She starts pulling things out of the box and cannot stop smiling.

On top is a hoodie from the college where Bellamy teaches. It looks worn and somewhat old. Clarke shakes her head with a smile as she thinks about Bellamy including his hoodie. What a stereotypical thing to send her; a hoodie that smells like him. She loves it. He also sent her his two favorite candies along with a note that he has her two favorite all ready for their next movie night. Squished into a corner of the box is a teddy bear (Raven corrects Clarke saying it's a Build-a-Bear). The bear has a crown sewn onto its head and is wearing a shimmery pink dress. Clarke hugs it to her chest as a joke and is startled when it speaks. "Love you, Princess," it says in Bellamy's voice.

"That is vaguely creepy," Raven says, digging through the rest of the box.

"I think it's cute."

The next thing she finds in the box is a folded t-shirt. Clarke and Raven can't help but laugh when they look at the writing on the front of the shirt. It's one of those cheesy 'I heart New York' shirts. It smells heavily of cologne that Clarke knows to be Bellamy's because of the hoodie.

Under the shirt is around a hundred sealed envelopes all addressed to Clarke. They're all dated from around the time they started dating until a week ago.

"What are those?" Raven asks. She picks up one from the box and looks to Clarke.

Clarke shrugs, "I don't know... I'll call Bellamy." She grabs her phone from the kitchen table and clicks Bellamy's number before settling back on the couch.

"Birthday girl!" he says as he answers the phone.

Clarke can't keep the smile from her voice as she says, "I got your present."

"Do you like it?" he asks, bashfully.

"Of course, it's amazing and thoughtful. But what are in the envelopes?"

"They're letters. I wrote them all to you while we've been dating."

"Are you serious? That is too adorable," Clarke says.

"Glad you think so. Now you know why Miller can't know," she laughs. "Well Princess my break is over, I'll call you later."

"Thanks for all of this, Bel."

"No problem."

"So what are the envelopes?" Raven asks as Clarke sets her phone aside.

"Letters to me, apparently. I'll read one." She pulls out a random letter from July and reads it aloud.

_Princess,_

_Shall I compare thee to a summer's day... Sure because it's hot as hell here and so are you. I can't help but imagine you back in Denver... Probably as hot as I am, sweating it out, maybe heading to the pool in that swimsuit. The one you sent me a picture of... But that's not where I want these letters to go._

_I am so grateful for you Princess. You mean everything to me and I am so glad you put up with me and my shit. I thank the stars everyday that you're my girlfriend and I cannot wait until the day comes when we can meet face to face._

_I know we've only been dating for three months, almost four, but I know it now. I probably won't say it to you yet because it might scare you off, but I love you. I love you I love you I love you. I LOVE YOU._

_I hope you stay my girlfriend for a long time, Princess._

_Yours truly,_

_Bellamy_

"Ok we were completely wrong about this guy. He is too adorable," Raven says, taking the letter from Clarke's hand.

"Yeah... He really is."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to give you guys a heads up that I will probably post the next chapter on Wednesday, and then the one after that on Friday because I have a three day weekend and can't see myself doing anything other than writing. Hope you don't mind two updates in one week ;)   
> I would love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, so feel free to leave me a comment!


	4. Hi Dad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke goes to visit her father after celebrating her birthday with her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter isn't really edited and all mistakes are mine, I've been feeling like shit all day but really wanted to give y'all an update real quick so I hope you enjoy.

After Monty, Jasper, and Wick surprised Clarke at her dinner with Raven, she's exhausted. They made her stay for at least one drink when she was hoping for a short dinner... When Raven finally drops her off back at her apartment, she plops face first down onto her bed. Traffic is a bitch in the city so the drive to her apartment took much too long.

It feels like someone is squeezing the life out of Clarke's heart. Bellamy's gift was a good distraction for a while, then life settled back into its usual pace. Raven is still the same, Monty and Jasper are still the same. Everything went back to the way it was. Which meant Clarke went back to the pain.

She's been ignoring her mother's calls all day. She doesn't want to hear from her.

Without thinking, Clarke throws on a hoodie and some shoes and makes her way to the parking garage. Once in her car, she turns up the radio as loud as it will go and begins her drive. It's dark now and traffic is still bad. She gets dirty looks for her loud music, but she just flips all those people off. Don't they know she's grieving?

The highway is a bit better and she speeds to her destination. Parking on the street, she hops the fence and makes her way to that slab of concrete with his name etched into it.

Everything is dark, and not just the night sky. Clarke feels, well, she feels dark. She feels empty in places where she used to be overflowing and dim in places where she used to shine bright. She knows this feeling won't last forever, time has shown her that, but that makes it worse. It makes her feel like she's losing him even more. Like she only feels his loss in October. But the rest of the year is just fine without him. It shouldn't be. Her life was forever changed that day, and it feels like she's forgetting that.

It hits her as it always does, knocking the air from her lungs. Her father will miss out on giving his blessing to her future husband (she says husband because she's sure it will be Bellamy). He will miss giving her away at her wedding, and meeting his grandchildren. He has already missed her first heartbreak, when all she wanted was her father's advice and his shoulder to cry on. He missed her graduating high school, then college. He missed her first gallery.

Before she loses herself completely, she looks up at the sky. Finding the brightest star, she smiles and watches it for a while. After her grandma died when she was six, Jake told Clarke that she was watching over them all. That she was the brightest star in the night sky, waiting for her chance to protect them all. Clarke now likes to think that's her dad, watching her from wherever he is. She likes to think he is there with her, laughing when she burns the macaroni to the bottom of the pan and feeling a sense of pride when he sees what she's accomplished. Because she is accomplished. She has a nice apartment downtown, she has amazing friends and an even more amazing boyfriend. She's happy with her job as well. She knows he'd be proud.

Lying on the ground with her head next to the headstone, she decides to call Bellamy. It's only nine her time, so he will still be awake.

"Hey birthday girl," he says in a smiling voice.

She swallows, knowing her voice will be hoarse and scratchy, "Hey."

"Are you ok?" Bellamy asks quickly, sensing her mood.

"I guess. I sort of snuck into the cemetery."

"You did?"

She touches the cool stone next to her, "He would have loved you."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. He'd love the fact that you care so much about me," she says with a small smile.

"Well I do care about you. I'm sorry you're feeling this way, Princess. I wish there was something I could do."

"I wish you were here," she sniffles. "I wish you weren't 1,619 miles away."

He sighs, "Someday Princess. I'll come visit. I promise."

"I can't wait."

"How are you feeling?" Bellamy asks.

"Alright. Better now that I'm talking to you. Raven and all my friends just wanted to celebrate. It was so tiring," she admits with a shake of her head.

"Well now you get the weekend to be by yourself. I know you do some of your best artwork when you're mad or upset, that's why you watch Grey's Anatomy so much."

She laughs, "You're right. I can probably get some work done. And talk to you a lot."

"That is a big plus as well, I'm amazing."

"You are," she tells him.

"So are you, Princess. Now why don't you head home, get some sleep, yeah?"

"Yeah. That's a good idea. I'll call you tomorrow."

"I'm already looking forward to it."

"I love you Bellamy Blake."

"I love you too Clarke Griffin."

She hangs up the phone and sits up. She's not actually going back home yet. She wants to stay a while longer with her dad.

The headstone is simple and grey and she stare at it from where she sits cross legged in front of it. 'Jacob Griffin, beloved husband and father'. Oh how much more than that he was... He meant so much more to Clarke than that. He wasn't just her father. He was her biggest supporter, the man who taught her to dance and how to fold a spoon. He was there when she first showed off her paintings at her middle school art show and he was the one who bought her that trash bag full of acrylic paints soon after. He was the one who would cook them dinner when Clarke's mom worked late, and they would watch trashy reality tv together afterwards. He was the one she first told when she realized she was into girls, and he helped her tell her mom. Clarke didn't know it was possible to feel so loved. She didn't know anything else. And was not prepared for the shock of losing him.

She misses their random drives into the mountains when he had a day off, fishing poles in the backseat and water bottles in the cup holders. She misses the way their hands would smell like fish afterwards from the bright pink eggs they baited their hooks with. She misses take your daughter to work day, and all the times he took her out to dinner. She never thought she would say this, but she misses the times when he embarrassed her in front of her friends.

"Hey dad, sorry I haven't come to see you in a while. It's just felt like too much lately. I miss you. Mom does too. I'm pissed that you won't get to meet Bellamy because he's great dad. He's a good one. I think he might be it for me. I hope you're still that star up there. And I hope you're watching out for me so I don't do something stupid. Well... Sneaking into a cemetery is a little stupid... But I'm 27 today so I still get to be a little stupid." She tries to continue but starts sobbing instead. She covers her face with her hands and feels the tears fall down her cheeks.

"I'll see you on your birthday," she croaks before standing and running back to her car.

She gets into the driver's seat and continues crying. She thought going to see him would make things better, but it only made her confused and angry.

Wiping her tears away, she starts her car and heads home. Even her car reminds her of her dad. It was his car, her mom got it for him when Clarke was three. It's very old and barely goes above 60 mph, but she won't give it up. Not even if it dies. She'll keep it somewhere, to remember him. His favorite pen is still in the glove box and the bag from that popcorn place he went to in Boston is in the backseat. He was getting back from a trip and saw a shop called 'Nuts On Clark'. He couldn't resist getting some for his daughter.

Once she's back to her apartment, she crawls into her bed after changing into some pajamas. When sleep continues to elude her, she whips the blankets off her body and heads over to her desk. There, she finds some charcoal and just starts drawing. One wall of her bedroom is covered in paper. She just tapes giant sheets to the wall and draws when she doesn't know what else to do. And now seems like just that.

She thinks it starts out as a plane- or some type of rocket ship- but after some more drawing and a lot of smudging, it turns into a bird. A Phoenix. She tears the drawing down and sets it gently on the floor in the living room. It looks really good, so she's going to frame it.

After looking at her hands and arms, she knows she needs to shower to get all the charcoal off herself. The clock on the oven reads just after midnight and Clarke knows that a shower will wake her up. Looks like she's not sleeping tonight.

She allows the warm water to wash everything away. She scrubs the makeup off her face and the dark smudges off her arms.

When she steps out of the shower, she wraps herself in a plush towel and walks slowly into the living room. She doesn't care that her hair will dry weird or that there will be a weird extra curl when she ties her hair up in a bun.

Nothing interesting is on tv at half past one in the morning, so she settles for some weird action movie with a bunch of teenagers doing parkour and robbing banks.

She falls asleep as the movie winds down and wakes up the next morning when her fail-safe alarm goes off. After seeing a few missed texts from Bellamy, she calls him like she said she would.

"Good morning, Princess," he says in a rather happy tone.

"Morning," she yawns.

"Did you just get up?"

She takes her hair out of the bun it was in and shakes it out before trying to comb it with her fingers, "Yeah. I went to bed pretty late..." She knows she's revealing the somewhat lie she told him, that she would go home and sleep, but it's Bellamy. She tells him everything.

"Oh yeah? What'd you do all night?" he asks, seeming genuinely curious.

"I drew this huge Phoenix that I have no clue how to frame. Then I watched this weird movie that I totally didn't finish."

"Are you feeling any better?"

She sighs, "I am actually." It's the truth. She's happy that she's not hurting so much anymore, but still feels like her happiness and contentment is making her forget her father. Maybe this will pass, maybe she just needs more time...

"That's good. I'm glad to hear that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave me a comment, those are absolutely my favorite thing as writer! I will have the next chapter for you guys on Friday.


	5. Thanksgiving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke goes to her mother's for Thanksgiving dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goodness guys! I am so sorry I forgot to update yesterday! I had quite the crazy day, but I do have this chapter for you today so please don't hate me too much.

Clarke looks great. The dark red dress she picked out looks amazing on her. It's a little short, but why not mess with her mother a little bit. Her hair is curled and makeup done. After some struggling, she manages to get on her pair of black tights and slips on her heels.

She really doesn’t want to go to her mother’s house. But it’s Thanksgiving, and she can’t turn her mother down today.

It’s four in the afternoon now, and her mother asked her to be there around five. Clarke knows traffic will be horrible today, so she really should be leaving soon. She checks her phone before she leaves her apartment, and sees a text from Bellamy.

**_have fun at your mother’s ;)_ **

She rolls her eyes before replying, **_why am I dating such an asshole?_**

Stuffing her phone into her small purse (the one her mother bought her a few months ago so his better earn Clarke some bonus points), she walks to the parking garage. As she gets into her car, her phone buzzes, alerting her to a text from Bellamy.

**_you know you love me princess. don’t even lie_ **

**_I’ll only love you if you keep texting me today. I am not sitting through dinner with my mother and her husband without you._ **

**_you got it princess_ **

Clarke then starts her drive to her mother’s house. It’s a thirty minute drive on a good day, but she expects it to take much longer today since it’s a holiday. She avoids the highway and soon realizes how much of a mistake that was.

She’s been stuck at the same red light for three minutes. She sends Bellamy a snapchat of her making a sad face with the caption ‘traffic is more of a bitch than you’. He replies immediately with a picture of him, a shocked expression on his face and the caption ‘how could you?’. She just laughs and sends him a smiling picture with the red heart emoji.

When she finally gets to her mother’s house, she is only a little late.

“Clarke,” Abby says upon opening the front door, “you look lovely.”

“Thanks,” Clarke says, happily.

Marcus comes to the door and gives her a hug. Next, they all head into the kitchen and Clarke helps get the food ready.

They all sit at the table and Clarke starts eating right away, she was starving.

**_how’s dinner? Bellamy texts her._ **

**_my mom is trying to set me up with some new guy at her work. says he’s the brightest resident she’s seen_ **

**_oh I better watch out then_ **

**_yeah because I totally want to be with someone who works all the time and is as exciting as a wet paper bag_ **

**_am I as exciting as dry paper bag?_ **

**_mmm... maybe a damp one_ **

“Clarke?” Abby says, trying to get her attention.

“What?”

“Who are you texting?”

“My boyfriend,” she replies.

“That man you met online?”

“Yep,” Clarke smiles.

**_uh oh, here comes another speech... how many times can I be told that my boyfriend is a creep?_ **

**_maybe I am a creep... who knows..._ **

**_oh shut up_ **

Abby goes on to say the things she’s said many times before. Marcus chimes in, saying there is a whole cyber unit at the station. Clarke just continues to eat her food, hoping they drop the topic soon which they do. They move on to talk about work and politics, all things that bore Clarke. She is just glad they’re not talking about Bellamy.

The rest of the dinner goes pretty well, and dessert follows.

Clarke heads home afterwards with a full stomach. That went much better than expected. Usually dinners with her mother and stepdad end with fights and disagreements.

She gets home and immediately calls Bellamy.

“Hey there, Princess,” he says.

“Hey Clarke!”

She laughs, “Was that Octavia?”

“Yeah, I’ll put you on speaker,” Bellamy says.

“Hey Octavia,” Clarke says with a smile.

“I feel like we haven’t talked in forever!” Octavia tells her.

“I know, we need to FaceTime soon.”

“Sounds like a deal.”

“So how was dinner?” Bellamy asks.

“It went pretty well actually. No fights other than when they tried to convince me you were some murderer.”

“I don’t know,” Octavia says. “Who knows what Bellamy does in his free time... I say he’s got some bodies in the storage unit...”

“Shut up O, no one is supposed to know about that,” Bellamy warns, making the girls laugh.

“As long as you don’t murder me, I’m fine with it,” Clarke tells him. “So how was the Blakes sibling Thanksgiving?”

“Great!” Octavia shouts.

“We made plans for Black Friday all day, we’re leaving soon,” Bellamy says.

“So. Many. Newspapers.” Octavia says and Bellamy laughs.

“I bet Raven will drag me to go shopping with her... Last time we went she ended up punching some middle age woman in the face for stealing from our cart.”

“You know, the more I hear about Raven the more I like her,” Bellamy says, thoughtfully. “I mean she did forgive me for my... joke, and now she’s punching people. She sounds great.”

“She is.”

“Well we gotta go, I will text you about the crazy ass people we see while we’re shopping.”

“Bye Clarke!” Octavia says, happily.

“Bye guys. Love you, Bel.”

“Love you too, Clarke.”

\---

Bellamy goes back to work the next week and is glad for the short Thanksgiving break. It was good to spend some time with his sister. He loves his job, but those few days off were much appreciated.

He sits at his desk while his students are working on an assignment. He realizes that for once, he doesn't have anything to do. Today he handed back papers that he finished grading over break, and the grade book is fully updated... He decides to pull out his phone and mess around until his students are done.

He opens the Instagram app and is scrolling down when he suddenly stops.

Squinting at the picture on his screen, he considers pinching himself to make sure this is real.

The username is definitely Clarke's. Clarke posted this picture. And she posted it three hours ago.

A picture of her kissing some girl with the caption _'fun time with the bae last night'._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all don't mind the cliffhanger... But now you only have to wait six days for the next chapter rather than a week (if you're a glass half full type of person). I hope you all liked this chapter and leave me some comments, let me know what you liked or didn't like... Your comments make my day :)


	6. This Means War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy is pissed and Clarke gives Monty and Jasper the silent treatment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry I completely forgot to update yesterday! I hope you guys don't hate me, and to make up for it I'll be posting another update for you all on Tuesday.

Monty and Jasper were proud of themselves. They said they would get Clarke back for making them think she'd dropped their laptops in the sink. She thought it was funny at the time, but little did she know she started a prank war. And Jasper and a Monty made quite the team.

It wasn't that hard to hack into Clarke's Instagram; her password is 'princess88', not too hard to crack.

The picture was an old one. One that she deleted shortly after her breakup with Lexa three years ago. The only hard part was figuring out the right caption. They channeled their inner Clarke and did the best they could.

They figured Raven would see it, all their other friends, and Clarke would be embarrassed or something... Okay the plan wasn't really thought through. But it would be funny. And they're adults now, they can't resort back to the shaving cream pranks they used to pull back in school.

They logged out of Clarke's account and waited. Waited for their prank to work. Waited to win this war.

*****

Somehow, Clarke had fallen asleep on the couch watching Grey's Anatomy at one in the afternoon. Then after that, she felt gross and took a shower. So she didn't see her phone for a couple of hours.

When she finally did, she saw a text from Bellamy.

_**nice instagram picture** _

She wondered what he meant, so she called him. He doesn't answer the first time, she calls again.

"Clarke," he answers.

"Everything ok?" she asks cautiously. She grabs her towel and dries her hair a little bit while putting her phone on speaker.

"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"Um... I have no idea what you're talking about... What was your text by the way? I haven't posted on Instagram in days."

"Nice try. I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but I have been faithful this entire time. Too many girls to count have offered themselves to me, and I turned them down because I had you. Seems you couldn't do the same."

Clarke feels her heart racing. What is he talking about? He is making no sense. Does he think she was unfaithful? "Bellamy, what on earth are you talking about?"

He scoffs, "Please. At least respect me enough to tell me the truth, Clarke."

"I would. I always tell you the truth. But I'm extremely confused right now, Bel."

"You know what, I'm done. Have fun with your new girlfriend, Clarke," he says before hanging up.

"What the fuck?" Clarke breathes before quickly checking her Instagram.

She sees a picture that she definitely did not post. She's sure of that much. Part of her doesn't believe this. Bellamy just dumped her because of this old picture of Lexa and her. How could he think this was recent? Clarke's hair is about six inches longer and she doesn't have her ears pierced in it... The other part of her knows exactly who did this.

Exiting out of the app, she taps on Jasper's number in her recent calls. He answers on the third ring.

"What have you done?" she asks as her voice cracks.

He laughs, "Don't do the crime if you can't handle the time, Griffin!"

"You did this?" her voice drifts away from sounding like she's about to cry and settles on murder.

"Yep. Did the caption sound like you? We weren't sure."

"You idiot! Bellamy just broke up with me because he saw that picture!" she screams into the phone.

"Oh," he says.

Clarke takes a deep breath, currently the only thing stopping her from reaching through the phone and strangling her so called friend. "This isn't funny, Jas. This goes beyond a prank. Now I have to fix this." She hangs up before he can reply, knowing he is probably calling Monty to tell him that they monumentally screwed up.

She tries calling Bellamy back to explain the misunderstanding, but gets no answer. Next, she sends a few texts hoping they'll help.

**_bel, please answer_ **

**_I can explain this is all just a misunderstanding_ **

**_give me a chance bel_ **

Not getting a reply, she calls again knowing he won't answer. At least this time she will leave a voicemail.

She sighs as his familiar answering machine plays. "Bellamy please call me back. I will explain this all to you if you do, just please listen. I swear to the stars, the moon, the sun, and every planet in our solar system that I've never cheated on you. I've never cheated on anyone and never will. I love you Bellamy. Call me back." She throws her phone onto the couch after she ends the call. Covering her face with her hands, she sinks down onto the couch beside her phone.

Great, she thinks, this is just great.

It doesn't make any sense to her, that Bellamy would actually believe she could do something like this. He knows about Finn, he knows how much she despises cheating. Then again, she understands getting irrational and jumping to conclusions when you're hurt. It means he cares...

Even if he took it out on her by ending their relationship.

To add insult to injury, Bellamy has already changed his relationship status on facebook.

"What's it been? Ten minutes?" Clarke says to the air, throwing her hands up in frustration.

\---

Clarke waits up until two in the morning for Bellamy to call back, even though she knows he went to bed long before that.

She paces the room over and over again to the point where she's left footprints imbedded in the carpet. Finally, she heads to her room and goes to bed. Her sleep is restless, she tosses and turns all night.

Her alarm goes off at four thirty in the morning and she groans, forgetting that it's Friday. Every Friday, she gets up at the asscrack of dawn to watch the sunrise. Sometimes she'll paint it using watercolor, sometimes she'll use pastels. It was a project she started in January as her New Years resolution. She thought it would make an interesting part of one of her gallery shows; a year of sunrises.

She is really not up for this today, but she knows she has to do this.

The balcony off her apartment faces east, so she pulls on a jacket and goes to sit at the small table she's put outside.

Once her piece is almost finished, she returns to her bedroom and falls back asleep.

When she wakes up again, she has a few missed calls from Raven and calls her back.

"Clarke oh my god are you ok?!" Raven exclaims when she picks up.

"Yeah I'm fine," Clarke lies, rubbing sleep from her eyes. In truth, she is angry and disappointed. She flops back onto the bed and stares at the ceiling.

"What happened?" Raven asks. "Jasper called me yesterday freaking out."

"Him and Monty posted an old pic of Lexa and I on Instagram, and Bellamy saw it. He thought it was recent and assumed I cheated on him. He broke up with me, Rae."

"You're kidding..."

"Nope. Now he won't answer my calls."

"So what's your plan?" Raven asks, seeming ready to help.

"I'm gonna blow up his phone until he is forced to answer," Clarke explains.

"That's my girl."

"Tell Jas and Monty that I don't hate them, would you? I'm super mad, but I'll get over it. They were just messing around," Clarke tells her.

"I think you might have just saved them both from having their fifth heart attack of the day," they both laugh.

"Well I am off to start blowing up Bellamy's phone, I'll call you later."

"Hope he calls you back," Raven says before hanging up.

Clarke looks at the clock on her phone and sees that it's almost noon, meaning it's almost two in New York. Bellamy will just be finishing his last class and most likely won't have picked up his phone anyways. So Clarke is not surprised when he doesn't.

She leaves him another message, "Hey Bel, hope you'll call me back this time. I'm going to keep calling by the way. I'm not giving up on you. Look you have every right to feel angry, but hear me out Bellamy. Please."

Now, all that's left to do is wait. After an hour she calls again. Then leaves a few texts that are along the line of what she sent him the first time.

With each hour that passes, Clarke becomes more and more nervous. Bellamy still hasn't called her by the time she goes to dinner with Raven.

Clarke won't tell Raven this, but she's scared. She's scared this is actually the end of her and Bellamy. She is terrified that Bellamy won't hear her out and she'll be single again. She doesn't want that. She wants to be with Bellamy.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter and once again I am so sorry for forgetting to update yesterday!   
> Leave me a comment and let me know what you think :)


	7. You and Me Til the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy finally calls back.

Exhaustion is setting in, Clarke knows it is only a matter of minutes before she falls asleep. She's been up all night waiting for Bellamy to call her back, send her a text, something. The sun is rising and she can see the orange and yellow through the blinds in her bedroom window.

His ringtone startles her and she almost doesn't believe it. Without thinking or any hesitation, she answers the phone.

"Bel?"

"I've calmed down. You said there was a misunderstanding," he says, absolutely no emotion in his voice.

"Yes, there is. You see, that picture you saw is old. From before I even met you. Monty and Jasper were trying to prank me because I unknowingly started a war with them but they thought it would be funny to post it. They thought I'd be embarrassed or something..." she sighs. "Bellamy I am so sorry this happened."

The line goes silent for a few moments. Clarke can hear the blood pumping through her veins and feels her heart pounding against her chest. It is, quite literally, now or never.

He takes a moment longer before saying, "So this was all a prank?"

"Yeah... Monty and Jasper practically had a heart attack when they found out what happened."

He sighs loudly before Clarke hears some grumbling. "God I feel like such an ass," he says. "I didn't even give you a chance to explain..."

"Don't worry about it. You were angry, I understand.”

“You do?” Now he sounds scared.

“Of course. I was just scared, Bellamy...” she tells him.

“I am so sorry Clarke. I feel terrible. Is there any way you can forgive me?”

“There’s no reason for me not to, Bel.”

“So we’re good?” he asks, hesitantly.

“Yeah,” she smiles. “We’re good.”

"You and me til the end, Princess," Bellamy says.

Clarke smiles and sighs a sigh of relief. "Yeah, you and me til the end."

"I gotta head in to work, I'll call you later, Princess."

"Sounds good, Professor."

Clarke hangs up the phone and does a little happy dance. She's suddenly very glad she lives alone because that was a little embarrassing. Smiling, she calls Raven to tell her the good news.

"What's up, Griffin?" Raven asks, sounding like she's just woken up. It's only then that Clarke realizes the early hour.

"Oh sorry for calling so early," Clarke apologizes with a laugh. "But I wanted to tell you that Bellamy called."

"What happened?"

"I told him it was all a prank and he felt bad that he got angry. Everything is fine now, thank god."

"That's awesome. I am so glad you got this all worked out. I'll tell Monty and Jasper since I assume you're still giving them the silent treatment."

Clarke laughs, "Oh yeah. Let them sweat it out for a while though. Call them on your lunch break."

"I should be getting ready for work, I'll call you at lunch and tell you how the nerds reacted."  

“Have fun at work, try not to murder Wick.”

“No promises.”

Clarke manages to plug her phone onto the charger before falling onto her bed. She fell right to sleep and even slept through her fail-safe alarm. However, she does wake up around one in the afternoon when Bellamy’s ringtone begins to play.

“Hello?” she says groggily.

“Were you asleep?” he asks with a chuckle.

“Yeah. I was sort of up all night so I went to bed right after you called,” she says, not telling him why she was up all night. Not after she heard how terrible he felt for everything that happened. She doesn’t want to make him feel worse.

“Then I am glad you got some sleep, Princess.”

“Hey you know what?”

“What?” he asks.

“It’s December now...” Clarke tells him.

“I know the date, Princess.”

“Well... Your birthday is coming up,” she says, excitedly.

“So you hate your own birthday, but love everyone else's?”

“Well of course. This is your first birthday with me as your girlfriend, I plan to make it awesome.” She has no idea how yet, she’s not even sure she can top the present he got her...

“Whatever you’ve got planned will be amazing I’m sure,” he says. Little does she know that he has something planned. He definitely cannot tell her, not yet. It’s not a for sure thing yet, but he is hopeful this will work.

\---

After hanging up with Bellamy, Clarke stares down at her drawing of the Phoenix. Framing something so large will be a pain in the ass. Then, she gets an idea. She decides to cut the drawing into nine squares, and frame each square individually. She’ll hang the drawing in her living room on the wall opposite the tv, so she can see it everyday.

A week goes by and Clarke still has no idea what to get Bellamy for his birthday. She thinks about going to visit him as a surprise, but she doesn’t have the cash to buy a plane ticket to New York. And she definitely doesn’t have the money to send him a big package either. How did Bellamy afford to send her that big ass box? It weighed a ton, and was as tall as her coffee table.

*****

Bellamy is so excited. He has four days off of work for Christmas this year. He somehow got his sister to agree to let him leave this year. Even though they spend every holiday together. She has Lincoln to celebrate with her this year...

He’s good with saving money, and saved enough for this.

*****

Bellamy calls her as soon as he's done with work. He always does. But today, it's different. His voice sounds even happier and she can hear his smile.

"Guess what?" he says.

She can't help but smile too. "What?"

"I got a plane ticket. Guess where to?"

"Where?" she asks suspiciously.

"DIA."

"No way you're coming here?! For how long? When? Oh my god, Bel!?"

He laughs, "I get a few days off for Christmas break before I have all these meetings, and I figured there's no better time to come and see my Princess. It's only two whole days, but, it's better than nothing right?"

"Of course it's better than nothing! I'm so excited."

Bellamy tells her his flight information, and that he will be leaving for Denver in a couple weeks. Clarke is practically shaking with anticipation.

They will finally get to meet each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Next chapter they finally meet in person! About time, am I right...   
> I hope you guys liked this chapter, if you did you should totally leave me a comment and tell me what you liked.   
> I will definitely have another update on Friday for you guys :)


	8. Shitty Car and a Messy Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy flies to Denver.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry if the formatting is off with this chapter, I am posting from my phone and it's being a little difficult...

Christmas is in three days, which means Bellamy is coming in two. Clarke is freaking out just a little bit. She’s tried cleaning her apartment multiple times, but has no idea what to do with all her stuff.

She lives in a state of organized chaos. It may look like her apartment is a mess to anyone who doesn’t know her, but she knows where everything is. All her paints are in the living room. They may be all over the floor and loveseat, but Clarke leaves them there for a reason. She has pencils and charcoal scattered all over her bedroom, but she knows where each specific one is and the sharpener that goes along with it. She doesn’t know if she can tidy up.

Then she figures, what the hell does Bellamy care. If these two days go how she thinks they will, they will spend most of their time in her bedroom.

She’s tried to get out of Christmas dinner with her mother and stepdad, but Abby refuses. She says she is excited to meet Bellamy. Clarke supposes she and Bellamy can take a break for a few hours...

When the time comes to pick up Bellamy from the airport, Clarke is once again shaking with anticipation. She cannot stop smiling and her heart is beating so fast she fears it may break some ribs.

The airport is sort of a long drive from her apartment, so she plugs her phone into her car’s stereo and plays her favorite playlist.

Once there, she spots his mess of curls and her heart nearly leaps into her throat. She throws her car in park and hears the transmission growl at her, but she doesn't care. The car stops with a halt and she flings the door open, running the few steps to him and jumping into his arms.

"Hey Princess," he says into her hair.

"Hi," is all she manages to say.

"You're so much hotter in person," he tells her.

She laughs as he places her back on the ground. She looks up at him with a smile on her face. "You're real." She lets out a breathy laugh.

"Did you ever doubt that?" he says, cupping her face with his hands.

"Not even a little bit." She smiles before kissing him. Everything seems to fall into place as they stand there together, wrapped up in one another. Clarke isn’t sure how long they stand there, and she really doesn’t care. She is kissing her boyfriend for the first time she she’ll enjoy it dammit!

He pulls away from her lips and rests his forehead against hers, “God I’m so happy to see you.”

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispers.

She takes his hand and leads him over to her car and he puts his bag in the trunk.

"So this is your car? You always said it was old but..." Bellamy laughs as he climbs into the passenger seat.

"CJ's 24 years old and still going."

"You named it?" He raises an eyebrow questioningly.

"Her. And yeah my dad did. She's his car," Clarke smiles.

"There's no rear view mirror..." he notices. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Haven't been caught yet."

"Oh so you're somewhat of a badass?" he laughs.

She starts the car and pulls away from the curb. "Yeah, right. You're lucky it hasn't snowed recently."

"Why is that?"

"CJ does not like snow. She'd probably stall."

"This car seems like a death trap."

Clarke just laughs.

"Why did you make me come outside so you could pick me up?" Bellamy asks.

"There's no way I'm going inside DIA." he looks at her asking her to explain. "There was this one night in college... We were all drunk and supposed to be heading home the next day for break. My friend heard I live in Denver and would be flying into DIA, so we may have watched conspiracy theory videos on YouTube...”

“Wow... I would not have expected that,” he laughs.

Clarke looks to Bellamy as they get to a stoplight, “I hope you don’t mind, but I have no intentions of showing you around Denver while you’re here.”

“As long as you show me your apartment I think we’re going to be just fine,” he says with a smirk.

Clarke smiles as the light turns green. She drives them downtown to her apartment and parks in her usual spot.

Bellamy takes Clarke’s hand in his and has his bag in his other hand. She leads them into her apartment and he sets his bag down by the door.

“What’s this?” he asks, seeing the half cut up drawing of the Phoenix on the floor.

She wasn’t lying when she said she wouldn’t clean up.

“I drew that on my birthday. I don’t really know why, but my hands just made... that,” she explains.

“Why is it in pieces?”

“I’m cutting it into nine different squares to frame it. Once again I have no idea what I’m doing, it just happened.”

“It looks amazing, I really like it.”

He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her close. She smiles at him and rests her head on his shoulder, “Thanks. That means a lot.” Clarke looks to the clock in her kitchen and sees that it's a little after seven, “You want to go get some dinner?” she asks.

“Nope,” he replies slowly. She looks at him and notices a lustful look in his eyes.

“I think we can find something else to do.”

She doesn’t give him a chance to reply before she kisses him again. She could definitely get used to the softness of his lips and the warmth she gets from being in his arms.

She breaks the kiss for a moment to bring him to her bedroom. Kicking aside some clothes she left on the floor, they walk inside. Knowing this would happen, Clarke chose the easiest outfit to remove that she could find. She quickly steps out of her leggings and Bellamy slides her hoodie over her head. However, her dumbass boyfriend decided to make things a little more difficult. She has a hard time removing his belt, and by the time she gets it off she flings it across the room in frustration.

Bellamy chuckles and she quickly shuts him up by crashing her lips upon his.

When they are both undressed, she pushes him down onto her bed and he looks at her with a wicked smile.

She thought she’d be nervous. She thought that there would be so much anticipation that her first time with Bellamy would fall flat in comparison. Clarke is not a person who worries, but she did worry about this. She worried that she would do something wrong, or that Bellamy wouldn’t like her anymore after this. But she quickly forgets all of her bad feelings as she watches him shamelessly stare at her body.

Still it’s not perfect, and she didn’t want it to be. It may not have been everything every girl dreams of, but it was more than good enough for Bellamy and Clarke. It felt right and Clarke now knows just how screwed she is with Bellamy (pun intended). She cannot let this guy go. And she has a feeling that he realized the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys all liked their first meeting! Btw DIA is actually super sketchy and there are so many conspiracy theories about it...   
> Please please please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought. And I will have another update for you all on Friday :)


	9. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Bellamy get ready for Christmas with her mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for this late update! I had quite the busy day, but I am hoping you all like this chapter. It's basically all fluff, so enjoy :)

“You really didn’t have to get me anything, Princess. Me coming here was the present,” Bellamy says as they lie in her bed.

“Bullshit. I got you two presents. One for your birthday, and one for Christmas. And since it is actually Christmas, you can open both today.”

“Fine, if you insist.”

She bites her lip with a mischievous look in her eyes as she gets out of bed and grabs two bags from her closet.

She hands him one while keeping the other in her hand. He looks at her suspiciously before removing the tissue paper from the bag. Inside he finds a bubble-wrapped... something. Taking off the bubble wrap, he finds a ceramic anatomical heart inside.

“What’s this?” he asks.

“Well it’s a heart obviously, but it’s filled with things I love about you. So when you go home and starts living your boring life without me there, you write things you love about me. Then, on our anniversary, you smash it and read everything we wrote.”

“You want me to break your heart?”

She laughs, “I told you I have been on a dark streak with my art lately.”

“You made this?” he seems surprised.

“Of course. Now the other one, I didn’t make. I just painted it,” she says, handing him the other bag.

Inside this bag, he finds a coffee mug (that she bought at Starbucks don’t tell Bellamy) that’s she’s painted white and written some sort of story over the white. On top of the lid is a crown with colorful jewels painted on it.

“Read it,” she says, nodding to the mug.

_She was the princess who didn’t need to be saved, and he was the knight that needed to save someone. Together they made it work. Though their kingdoms were far, far away, their love held enough magic to transcend realms. Once upon a time is not how their story begins. It all starts with a picture and an instantly formed connection. The knight and the princess can’t seem to do anything the way they’re supposed to. But happily ever after is the one thing they’ve gotten right._

“Did you write that?” he asks. She nods. “Princess these are amazing.”

“Eh, they’ve got nothing on the birthday gift you sent me,” she tells him with a dismissive wave of her hand.

He leans forward to capture her lips in a passionate kiss.

“I love you so much,” he tells her after pulling away.

“I love you so much too.” He chuckles, brushing some hair from her face.

They spend the rest of the afternoon in Clarke’s bed. They make some pizza rolls for lunch and eat them quickly before hopping in the shower.

“Do you really need three hours to get ready?” Bellamy asks as he watches Clarke shave her legs.

“Yes. Now you’ve never met my mother, but you will learn quickly that she expects perfection. So you’ll need to look good too.”

“Should I be nervous?” he asks.

“No, she mostly cares about appearances. If she starts giving you shit, I will throw down,” Clarke tells him.

He laughs, “This should be fun.”

\---

Bellamy thinks he might be falling even more in love with Clarke as he watches her run around her apartment looking for her strapless bra.

“Do you want some help?” he offers, trying not to laugh.

“No. I just could have sworn it was in that drawer...” she says, running to the washing machine and checking in there.

When it’s not in there, she checks the dryer.

“Fuck yes, found it! See I told you I needed three hours.”

She walks back into her bedroom and grabs her dress from the closet before slipping it on over her head. It is a tight-fitting dress that she knows Bellamy will love. It’s cream colored and has gold studs on one shoulder. And after checking herself out in the mirror in her bedroom, she knows she looks hot.

“Are you going to get dressed anytime soon?” she asks, looking to Bellamy with one eyebrow raised.

“Whatever the Princess wants,” he says with a bow.

She rolls her eyes before walking into the bathroom to do her makeup. Today she puts on some eyeliner as well as eyeshadow. She even fixes her eyebrows. Usually she just wears some mascara but she knows her mother will appreciate the effort for today.

When she walks back into her bedroom, she sees Bellamy buttoning up his shirt and smiles.

Her mom will most likely be suspicious of Bellamy tonight, and she has no reason not to be. All mothers should be wary of their daughter’s boyfriends when they first meet them. But Clarke knows Bellamy, she loves Bellamy. There isn’t any part of her that doubts he is the one for her.

“Wow,” he says when he sees her standing in the doorway. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. You clean up well yourself, Professor.”

He walks across the room to her and she wraps her arms around his shoulders. His arms wrap around her waist and he pulls her closer.

“Is it time to go?” he asks.

She sighs, “Yeah. But I don’t want to. I want to stay here with you.”

“Well we’ve got all day tomorrow too, Princess. We can do whatever we want,” he says with a small smile.

Clarke gets onto her toes to gives him a quick kiss before they leave her apartment.

While they’re driving to Abby’s house, Clarke’s phone buzzes.

“Bel can you read that to me?” she asks, quickly glancing down to her phone.

“It’s from your mom, it says Thelonious will be coming to dinner...”

“Shit,” Clarke says under her breath. “Well this is just great.”

“Who is Thelonious?”

“You remember my friend Wells? The one who died? Well that’s his dad.”

“Why is it bad that he’s coming?” Bellamy asks, very confused.

“He was like my second dad growing up. Wells and I would always be together, so Thelonious looked out for me when my dad wasn’t around. Now there will be my mom, my stepdad, and Mr. Jaha to question us...” Bellamy reaches over and takes Clarke’s hand, intertwining their fingers. The gesture is comforting and she takes a deep breath with him.

“It will be fine, Clarke. We can do anything together.”

“I’m so glad I have you,” she tells him.

Clarke knows that her three ‘parents’ will all put her boyfriend under the microscope. But as he holds onto her hand, she feels okay with that. Maybe they won’t like him and maybe they’ll think he’s not good for her. Who cares? Clarke knows how amazing Bellamy is and how much he cares for her. (And Clarke doesn’t really care for her mother’s judgements anymore since she approved of Finn). She and Bellamy make a hot couple and she is ready to go show that off to her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all liked this chapter, let me know your thoughts! I'll probably have another update on Wednesday because I will be very bored this week with nothing to do but write.


	10. I Try

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy meets the parents.

“You ready?” Clarke asks Bellamy as they pull into her mother’s driveway.

“Umm... This house is huge...” is all he can say.

“You should see the house of the billionaire who lives down the road,” she says. “I wish I was kidding.”

“Let’s go kill this dinner!” Bellamy says, suddenly pumped.

“Hey, no killing anything. Everyone already thinks you’re a murderer, remember?”

“Don’t blow my cover, babe,” he says, kissing her on the cheek and getting out of the car. He walks around to her door and opens it for her, offering his hand to help her out of the car.

“Well aren’t you quite the gentleman.”

“When I’m not chopping people into tiny pieces, I have my moments. What? I watched Dexter.”

She laughs as they head to the front door. Clarke rings the bell and pulls her coat tighter around her body. It is rather cold this evening. Bellamy notices and wraps his arm around her shoulders.

“Clarke, good to see you again. And you must be Bellamy,” Abby says with a smile. Bellamy holds out his hand and Abby shakes it. “Come inside, you two must be freezing.”

She steps aside and lets the couple in. Bellamy takes Clarke’s coat for her and hangs it on the rack beside the door before doing the same to his own. Abby tells them that dinner is almost ready and they all go into the living room to chat.

“Coffee, anyone?” Abby asks.

“Yes please,” Clarke says, “with creamer.”

“I’ll take some, black,” Bellamy says.

They sit on the loveseat together and Clarke rests her head on Bellamy’s shoulder.

“You’re gross. How can you drink black coffee?” she says.

“It’s bitter like me,” he whispers in her ear.

She laughs before motioning to the two men sitting in the room, “Marcus, Thelonious this is Bellamy.”

Bellamy stands quickly to shake their hands. Marcus smiles warmly at Bellamy, he recognizes Clarke’s stepdad from pictures on Facebook. Thelonious gives him a nod before they all sit back down. He seems like a very serious man. Bellamy likes that.

“Clarke has told us a lot about you, Bellamy,” Marcus says.

“Good things I hope,” Bellamy says, looking to Clarke.

She smiles, “What else is there to tell?”

“You’re cute.”

“So Bellamy, what is it that you do?” Thelonious asks.

“I’m a professor,” he answers.

Marcus seems interested, “What do you teach?”

“Honestly, I teach the stuff that makes students fall asleep. I teach mostly ancient history, but I have a few American history classes as well.”

“Yes he is very nerdy,” Clarke chimes in.

“Hey, rude,” Bellamy says and she just laughs.

Abby brings them their coffee and sits beside Marcus on the couch. “Bellamy how long will you be in Denver?” she asks.

“Sadly I leave the day after tomorrow,” he answers.

“Well I am glad we all got to meet you before you left. My daughter wanted to keep you hidden away and miss dinner tonight.”

“Well mom... This is the first time I’ve met him in person. Sorry that he is a little more exciting than dinner,” Clarke jokes, taking a sip of her coffee.

“So why is this your first visit if you two have been dating for nine months now?”

It takes all Clarke has not to groan at her mother’s question. She just gets right down to it, doesn’t she?

Bellamy doesn’t waver and answers without missing a beat, “I haven’t had the money until recently. I’ve been helping my sister pay off her college.”

“Oh how old is your sister?” Abby asks.

“She’s turning 24 soon.”

“Isn’t that a little old to be going to school?” There she goes again.

“Well she had to take a couple years off after high school because our mom died. We both had to work to keep the house and everything.”

That certainly shuts her mother up.

“That is very honorable of you, Bellamy,” Marcus says.

Clarke squeezes Bellamy’s hand and smiles at him. Any guy who can make her mother think twice is a keeper for sure.

The questions get lighter from there. They ask Bellamy where he went to school, where he teaches, etc...

When dinner is ready, they all head into the dining room and sit at the table. Clarke swallows her anger when Marcus sits at the head of the table; a position he had avoided for the longest time. So she decides to sit on the other side of Bellamy, leaving an empty seat between her stepdad and her boyfriend. Abby gives her a questioning look, but Clarke rolls her eyes and looks down at her plate.

“Did you two exchange gifts today?” Abby asks before taking a bite of her food.

“Yeah,” Clarke tells her, leaving it at that.

“This one here told me not to get her anything, that me coming to visit was her present. But she got me two great presents,” Bellamy says, picking up on Clarke’s anger and hoping her mother will move on.

“Oh yes, she’s told me that your birthday is right around Christmas. What did you get him, Clarke?” Abby must notice too, she’s obviously trying to pull Clarke back into the conversation.

Clarke loves talking about her art, especially to her mother. She is an amazing artist, and her mother hates that. So she’s not giving in to her mother’s attempt to pull her back in, she is simply boasting.

“I made him this ceramic heart that has little messages inside, so when he breaks it he can read them all.”

“That sounds interesting,” Marcus says, oblivious to the hostility building at the table.

Clarke shoots him a warning look that he doesn’t catch onto so Bellamy steps up, “She also made me a coffee mug that she painted. It has a little inside joke on it,” he says to her mother.

Abby smiles, “That’s very creative, Clarke.”

“I figured since he drinks so much coffee, he might as well think of me when he does it,” Clarke offers him a smile before it fades back into a scowl. He places his hand on her thigh.

Dinner is rather quiet and Bellamy suspects that is how it usually is around here because no one else seems to mind. There is the occasional question directed towards him and Clarke, but other than that it’s just the scrape of knives and forks on plates. Clarke offers to get dessert ready and pulls Bellamy up to come with her.

She leads him through the kitchen and into the bathroom down the hall.

“What are you doing?” he asks her.

“We’re having sex,” she explains, loosening his tie.

He grabs her hands to stop her, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Can’t a girl have angry sex with her boyfriend at an extremely awkward Christmas dinner?”

“I suppose,” he says as she presses her lips to his.

It’s quick and not so gentle and Clarke accidentally knocks over all the soaps on the counter, but she feels better afterwards. She smiles as they run back to the kitchen to quickly get the dessert. She teases Bellamy when he worries about everyone being suspicious. “I already don’t have a good history with first impressions, Clarke!” he whispers as she gets the pie from the fridge.

“Sorry, we couldn’t find the whipped cream,” Clarke uses as her excuse as they walk back into the dining room.

“Oh silly me, I forgot to get it out of the fridge in the garage,” Abby says with a chuckle.

“I’ve got it,” Clarke says , winking at Bellamy.

He follows her out to the garage and she sucks his dick before they head back inside, not caring what they all think. For some unknown reason (okay it is totally known), Bellamy doesn’t care either. He’s too happy to care.

His girlfriend is awesome.

After dessert, Clarke and Bellamy head back to her apartment with her mother’s gifts in the back seat.

“I have to say, my family gatherings are nothing like that,” Bellamy says with a laugh.

“That’s because it’s just you and your sister,” Clarke points out.

“That’s true. But I think I need you at them all now too. You make it quite interesting, Princess.”

“I try.”

“You’re sure you’re okay? I saw how mad you were, Princess...”

She moves her jaw back and forth, not sure how to answer. If she tells Bellamy the truth that, no, she’s not okay, he won’t drop it until she feels better. How could she not be mad. Does her stepdad suddenly think something is different? Did something randomly change in his mind? He honored Clarke’s wishes, he never tried to be her father. He was just her mother’s husband. He never introduced himself as her dad, he didn’t ask her mother to change her last name, and he never sat at the head of the table. She knows she will get over it, but she doesn’t want to talk about it.

On the other hand, if she lies to Bellamy, he might notice. And what good does lying do...

“I’m fine. I’m mad, but I’m fine. It’s not a big deal.”

“If something upsets you, then it is a big deal,” he says.

“Can you stop being so perfect? God, you make me feel so inadequate,” she says with a laugh.

“I try.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love the next few chapters, I have them all planned out already and I am excited to share them with you guys!   
> I really hope you enjoyed this update (and I will have another one tomorrow so yay! back to back days). Please please please leave me a comment and let me know what you think.


	11. The Burbs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy meets Raven.

The day after Christmas was spent sitting on Clarke’s couch. They watched movies and both agreed this was better than watching them over skype. They made breakfast together and Bellamy showed Clarke how to make bacon (what she’s always had the microwave kind...). Clarke loves the domestic vibe they have taken on in such a short time. More than anything she wishes Bellamy could stay, or that she could go with him back to New York. But for now, that is not possible.

They both cling to each other like a lifeline, always holding hands or hugging the other. Craving physical contact results in them almost never leaving the other’s side.

“When we move in together, we are not living in the city,” Clarke decides.

They lay on the couch together with Clarke’s head resting on Bellamy’s chest and his arms wrapped tightly around her.

“Is that so?”

“Yep. We're going to the burbs. We’re getting a huge house, and we’re gonna have sex in every single room. And we’re gonna get a big dog. Like a great dane.”

He smiles, “A great dane? What would we name it?”

“Mouse,” she answers simply, a content look on her face.

“How is Mouse going to feel when we have kids one day?” he asks.

“Mouse will love our kids. He will be protective of them and when people come over and try to play with the babies he’ll make sure to watch out for them.”

“Seems like you’ve got it all figured out.”

She sighs, “Yeah... Everything except those pesky 1,619 miles... What will we do about those?”

“I don’t know, Princess. I guess we save all our money... I look for a job here...” he sighs as well. “We will figure something out.”

“Promise?”

“Cross my heart.”

“What are you going to do when you get back?” she asks, lifting her head so she can look at him.

“Work... Bitch to my sister about how you’re not with me. Work. What about you, what will you do after I leave?”

“I’ll probably start on some new angsty piece,” she says, making him laugh.

“Who knows, maybe I’ll find some new murder victims when I get back to New York...”

“Don’t you mean get back home?”

“No. You’re home. When I’m with you I feel so happy and content. I’ve never been able to say that before. Sure, O and I have always been happy. We’ve always had each other. But we have always been fighting against something. Here, with you, it’s peaceful and I feel so great. That was probably really cheesy. Somehow Miller will know about this when I get back...”

“No it was sweet. Having you here has been good for me too, you can’t even know.”

“Good god, when did we become that couple?”

“When you sent me a teddy bear with your voice in it.”

He laughs, “Do you still have that thing?”

“Yeah, but I took the sound out. I sleep with the bear and having your voice randomly go off in the middle of the night was super scary. The little voice box is sitting on my dresser.”

“How many of the letters have you opened?” he asks.

“I open one a day usually. They’re amazing, Bellamy. That was really thoughtful of you.”

“I wanted to give you a good birthday. No one should feel sad on their birthday,” he says.

“Kind of unavoidable with me, but I’d love for you to try,” she smiles and he leans down to kiss her.

“What are we going to do for lunch? I am starving.”

Clarke sits up and looks at Bellamy with a smile, “Do you want to meet my friends?”

“If you want me to.”

“I do,” she says, taking a deep breath.

Grabbing her phone from the coffee table, she calls Raven and puts the phone on speaker.

“What’s up, Griffin?”

“Hey Rae, you want to get some lunch with Bellamy and I?” Clarke asks.

“Hell yeah! I gotta meet this guy. Although, I must say I am surprised you two aren’t living the rabbit life right now...”

“The rabbit life?” Clarke says, eyebrows drawn together in confusion.

“You know, going at it like rabbits.”

Clarke and Bellamy both laugh, “Oh don’t you worry, we’ve pretty much got that covered.”

“Sounds hot. Well come over to my place and we’ll order a pizza or something,” Raven says.

“Alright, we’ll be over in about half an hour,” Clarke says before hanging up the phone. She then turns to Bellamy and says, “Quickie before we go?”

“How could I say no to that?”

\---

Clarke and Bellamy get to Raven’s thirty minutes later and let themselves in.

“We’re here, Raven!” Clarke calls out.

Raven comes into the room and hugs her friend, “So you’re Bellamy. Nice to finally meet you in person.”

“I could say the same to you,” Bellamy says as he shakes her hand.

“Alright, down to business. Where’s the pizza?” Clarke says, making her way to the kitchen.

“I ordered it just how you like it, Clarke. Stuffed crust with extra pepperoni,” Raven tells her as she gets plates out for everyone.

Clarke smiles from ear to ear, “Aww, who's the best best friend ever?”

“Me!”

They all get their food and go sit on the couches in the living room.

“So did you guys go to your mom’s last night?” Raven asks.

Clarke and Bellamy both groan.

“We sure did... It was so awkward we ended up doing it in the bathroom,” Clarke says.

“Don’t forget about the garage,” Bellamy adds, how could he ever forget about what happened in the garage?

“Oh yeah,” she says, “thanks babe. We did it in the garage too.”

Raven laughs, “I’m sure your mom and Marcus loved that.”

“Oh I hope they did. Asking me to come over when it’s his first day here, they’ve got some nerve,” Clarke says with a laugh. “So what did you do yesterday?”

“Stayed here, did nothing, drank eggnog,” Raven lists.

“You don’t have any family around?” Bellamy questions.

Raven shakes her head, “Nope. I’m an only child like Clarkey. And my mom died a while back. And since both the nerds are gone, I was by myself.”

“The nerds?” Bellamy asks.

“Monty and Jasper,” Clarke explains. “Monty is back home with his parents for the holidays and Jasper is with his girlfriend and her family. Rae, do you know if they’re telling them yet?”

“I don’t think so. She apparently got kind of mad that he told us...”

Clarke turns to Bellamy, “Jasper went and got his girlfriend pregnant. He told us as soon as she told him.” He nods in understanding.

They continue to gossip, and Raven gets to know Bellamy a little better. She finds that she really likes him, he seems good for Clarke in her opinion. They finish the pizza and move on to some ice cream that Raven had in her freezer. Who says you can’t eat ice cream in the winter, certainly not Clarke and Raven.

After staying for a few hours, Clarke and Bellamy head back to her apartment. They say their goodbyes to Raven and Bellamy tells her how nice it was to meet her.

Clarke tries not to think about the passing hours and how each one means it is closer to Bellamy leaving. She honestly doesn’t know what she’ll do when he leaves. If just the thought of it is crushing, how will she feel when he actually does?

It is no different with Bellamy. He pushes away thoughts of getting on the plane and heading back to New York. He wants to stay with Clarke, he wants that big house in the suburbs with their giant dog and kids running around. But he knows they’re both strong, they will get through this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter, the next one is one of my favorites and I already have it written to I may post it on Monday or Tuesday.  
> Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me what you thought :)


	12. Back to Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke says goodbye to Bellamy.

Bellamy is to be at the airport at noon, so he and Clarke decide to stay up all night to spend more time together. He can sleep on the plane and she can sleep when she gets home. They fight off waves of exhaustion with cup after cup of coffee and soda. They hold each other like the world is ending.

They hardly leave her bed after they get back from Raven’s and they spend hours trying to memorize each other.

At around five in the morning, they’re both starting to get tired. Clarke remembers learning that exercise will wake you up, so they have a dance party in her kitchen while they make cookies. Clarke wears the button up that Bellamy wore to her mother’s on Christmas and Bellamy a pair of pajama pants that sit low on his hips. They take pictures together using the Polaroid that Clarke forgot she had.

When eleven o’clock rolls around, they jump in the shower together and let the hot water force away the sadness they’re feeling.

Clarke helps Bellamy pack up all his things, making sure his gifts are wrapped so they won’t break.

They get dressed in some comfortable clothes, Bellamy because he plans to sleep on the plane, and Clarke because she’s lazy and doesn’t want to waste a cute outfit on such a sad occasion.

Bellamy won’t let go of Clarke’s hand as they drive to the airport. She’s glad he won’t, she wouldn’t want him to. Silence takes over the car. Clarke wishes they could talk, but knows that if she did she would start crying. The quiet becomes comfortable as they continue driving. The other’s presence is enough to calm them down.

“This isn’t goodbye, Princess,” Bellamy says as she parks her car.

“Yeah, I know. But it still sucks.”

“It does...” he sighs.

“When your semester is over... We can see each other then,” she promises.

He leans over and kisses her and Clarke gives it all she has not to break down while he’s in the car. She’s strong, she knows she’ll be okay. But right now this is a pretty shitty situation and all she wants to do is hold Bellamy until her tears stop falling.

“You’re going to miss your flight,” she says quietly.

He gives her one last kiss, “I’ll call you when I land. I love you, Princess.”

“I love you, Bellamy.”

He gets out of the car and she pops the trunk so he can get his bag. He waves to her as he walks inside and she blows him a kiss that he catches over his head.

Clarke waits until she can no longer see him to drive away. She suddenly feels empty again. Like she is just a shell. How did she do this before? How did she make do without Bellamy right beside her? It doesn’t make any sense.

She’s shocked that she doesn’t cry but she’s not surprised by the intense ache in her chest. It’s been there all day, but feels almost unbearable now.

When she gets home she falls asleep on the couch waiting for Bellamy’s call. A smile immediately appears on her face when she hears his ringtone playing. Hearing his voice makes her feel so much better, he tells her that his flight was fine and that he slept through the whole thing being seated in the back of the plane by the bathrooms.

They fall asleep while talking to each other on the phone that afternoon.

\---

After about a week, they’re both starting to feel better. They slip back into their routine of skype movie nights, and texting about a hundred times a day. Clarke wouldn’t use the word 'normal' to describe it, but it is certainly getting there.

She starts buying Bellamy’s favorite candies for movie nights as well as her own. It makes her feel a little better, and who is she kidding salted nut rolls are fucking amazing. How was she not obsessed with these before?

It takes her a while to realize that she’s been spending more time with Raven since Bellamy went back to New York... She figures she’s lonely and Raven never fails to make her smile. She also finds herself eating out a lot more than she used to. Most of it is because she and Raven are too lazy to actually cook, and the rest is because they opened a new Chipotle down the block. In fact, she goes there so often that most of the employees know her and Raven by name.

Bellamy makes fun of her for this, but when Clarke Griffin has a craving for Chipotle there is no stopping her.

Clarke also talks to Octavia more. They talk when Octavia tells Bellamy she’s doing homework (but they would never tell him about this). Clarke can’t wait until the day comes when she can meet Octavia in person, she can already feel the bone-crushing hug the younger woman will give her.

For New Year's, Clarke is sick. She thinks it’s the flu, but Raven, Monty, and Jasper still come over to celebrate with her. Because the thought of alcohol is making her feel worse, she chooses to skip the drinking and stick with her Sprite. They all watch the New Year’s Eve specials huddled together on Clarke’s couch and Bellamy sends her a kissing emoji at midnight his time, and her time.

A few weeks later, Clarke looks back through all of her 52 sunrise pieces and organizes them by date. She sends a picture to Bellamy since he has been begging her to see them all.

Raven bursts into Clarke’s apartment and sees all the drawings and paintings scattered all over the floor.

“Damn girl, when you set that resolution last year, I didn’t think you’d keep up with it,” she says, admiring a piece that has a lot of pink and red.

“I am so proud that I actually did it. This is the first resolution I have ever actually accomplished,” Clarke says with a laugh.

“Well they all look so cool,” Raven tells her. “Hey will you come to the mall with me? I need to get some more concealer. I am breaking out like a fucking teenager.”

“Ugh that’s so annoying. But sure, just let me get dressed and we can go.”

Clarke hurries off to her bedroom to change. She pulls Bellamy’s hoodie over her head and wiggles into a pair of jeans. For some reason, her favorite white converse don’t fit today... So she settles for a pair of flats.

The two girls hop into Raven's Jeep and take the short drive to the mall. They get Raven's concealer, and head to a few more stores because why not?

"Dude you totally just gave that girl a death glare," Clarke says with a laugh as they exit the store.

"She looked at me funny... Don't mess with me during that time of the month. The stereotype is true with me."

Clarke laughs knowing how true that statement is. Then suddenly, her face deflates and she hopes Raven doesn't notice.

Next, they head to H&M. Raven picks out the ugliest shirt for Clarke as a joke and in retaliation, Clarke finds Raven the 'perfect' pair of floral leggings. Clarke then finds a dress in her size that she wants to try on and heads into the fitting room.

Zippers on the backs of dresses are frustrating enough, but now Clarke can't zip it all the way up. She swears she grabbed the right size. Her face deflates once more as her suspicions are most definitely confirmed.

Seeing no point in buying the dress, she exits the fitting room and goes to find Raven. She makes some excuse about having a headache and Raven takes her home. When Clarke is sure Raven has driven far enough away from her apartment, she gets into her own car and heads to the store.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So believe it or not, the next two chapters coming up were actually the first ones I wrote for this series. And since I already have those written I will probably have another update this weekend if I get a chance to edit them.   
> I hope you all liked this chapter, even if the beginning was super sad... Let me know what you thought :)


	13. Two Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke calls Bellamy after two days of not talking.

Bellamy's worried.

It's been a few days, two to be exact. And he's worried.

Maybe she realized that she didn't like him after meeting him... Maybe she would never speak to him again...

The longest they've gone without talking is the couple of hours each night when they're both asleep. Never two whole days.

He knows he is probably being stupid. Who knows what she's up to that could prevent her from texting back or replying. She could be super busy with a gallery show or something in the like. Maybe she lost her phone, or it got broken somehow... He’s just being irrational.

*****

Clarke forces herself to take deep breaths.

This cannot be happening... They were together for two days...

And now she’s pregnant. In hindsight, she should have seen this as a possibility. She wasn't on birth control, why would she be. Her boyfriend lives across the country, she has no need for it. And condoms break...

Her hands shake as she clicks on his number.

"Princess!" he says excitedly upon answering the phone. "You haven't called me in a couple of days... Is everything ok?"

She clears her throat, "Umm... That depends."

"On what? What's going on?"

"Remember how you said you wanted kids someday..."

He laughs awkwardly, "Yeah... You said that too."

"Well... Someday might be today. No actually it is today."

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I'm pregnant, Bel."

The line goes silent. Clarke wishes more than anything that she could see his face. That beautiful face, peppered with freckles and that adorable chin dimple he gets when he smiles. She'd give anything to see his lips again, if they are turned up in an elated smile or frowning because he's filled with regret.

Really anything would be better than his silence. She feels she might throw up if he doesn't say anything. And it's not due to morning sickness.

"You are?" he asks, no emotion in his voice.

She can't decide if that's good or bad.

Suddenly, she feels like she's choking. No words can force their way out. Not even air can do that right now. She was so nervous about telling him. They were doing so well, they were so happy when they were together. There is a very real possibility that this could ruin everything.  

"Clarke?" he asks, a bit concerned.

She lets out her breath, "Yes. I'm pregnant. You're the father. This baby is yours."

"Are you going to keep it?" she hears a crack in his voice. Finally some emotion. Albeit sadness...

"Yeah," her voice cracks as well. She feels like crying. "I am. I thought you should know."

He laughs, but it's not a laugh of amusement. It's the kind of laugh you let out before you cry tears of joy. She hears him sniffle and exhale a ragged breath.

"We're gonna have a baby?" he asks. Her heart finally stops racing when she notices the smile in his voice.

"Yeah," she laughs, "we are."

"I- I'll talk to my boss. Get myself another job to be with you. I will be there as soon as I can."

"What, you're going to move in with me?"

"Yeah. We are doing this together, Princess. You and me til the end, right?"

“Yeah, you and me til the end.”

“I’m serious I will talk to my boss tomorrow and see when they can get a replacement professor for my classes. You better start looking for that giant house in the burbs, Princess.”

She laughs, “I don’t know how we’ll afford that giant house.”

“We’ll figure something out. But your apartment won’t work, Clarke.”

“That’s for sure, it’s one bedroom... Maybe my mom can help us out, she’s loaded. Ugh but that mean I’ll have to tell her about the baby...”

“How do you think she’ll react?” he asks.

“She’ll probably be mad that we aren’t married, but I know she’ll be happy too. She’s always wanted to be a grandma.”

“Oh geez... Octavia will be ecstatic. She loves babies."

Clarke smiles, "Let me tell her, will you? I want to skype her and watch her reaction."

"You didn't want to skype me?"

"I didn't want to see your face if you got mad or called it quits. And I didn't want you to see how nervous I was and get nervous yourself. But we can now." She pulls the phone away from her ear and clicks the FaceTime button, waiting for Bellamy's face to pop up.

"Hey Princess," he says with a smile.

"Professor."

"Can I ask, why did you wait two days to tell me you're pregnant?"

Clarke bites her lip, "We had so much fun when you came out here and we had just started getting back into our routine... I don't know I was scared it would mess everything up."

"Do you have morning sickness?" he asks.

"A little bit. It's not too bad. But now I know why I eat Chipotle so much..." she says and he laughs. "Bel, I'm gonna get huge I'm warning you now."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because Raven and I went to the mall and I tried on this dress, and it was already too small. It wouldn't zip all the way."

"Well that could have been the dress, Princess. Not you. And who cares if you get big. I'll gain some sympathy weight if that makes you feel better."

She laughs and shakes her head, "I just pictured you all chubby... It was a great image."

"That's what the baby will look like. The Blake genes are strong."

"Ugh... I've seen your baby pictures. This kid will be born with a full head of hair," she groans. "I can feel the heartburn already."

"Wait, that's true?"

"No, it's an old wives tale. But this kid will definitely look like you. You're the poster child for dominant genes."

He smiles and she can tell he is looking at himself in the small screen, "Than our baby will be very good looking."

"Well I've set up my first doctor's appointment for three days from now, Mr. Conceited."

He suddenly looks very sad, "I feel so shitty that I'm missing it..."

"Don't get your panties in a twist. I wouldn't let you go with me even if you were here. They're just checking to see how far along I am. They don't even do an ultrasound until eight weeks."

"So you're not going to resent me later because I wasn't there?" he asks.

She raises her right hand so he can see it, "I promise. I've got to go, I'm having lunch with my mom to tell her."

"Suck up big time, Princess. I'm thinking three story, big backyard so Mouse can run around, definitely a finished basement..."

"Oh shut up," she laughs and rolls her eyes. "You're such an idiot."

"But you love me anyways."

"Yeah... Remind me why I do?" He gives her a shocked expression and she giggles. "I love you, daddy."

"Love you too, mommy."

She gives him a smile before ending the call. Then she takes a deep breath and goes to get ready for lunch with her mother. She knows people usually wait to tell friends and family about their pregnancy, but she also knows her mother would want to know about this now. Plus, it will give Clarke some bonus points that she told her mother before anyone else.

She quickly changes into a loose dress and a pair of boots before tying her hair up in a bun and heading to her car.

Telling Bellamy went so much better than she expected. Thinking about it now, she has no idea why she ever doubted him. Bellamy is a great guy and he loves her, there is no way he would end it because she's pregnant. She's glad that he's excited and also glad that he's coming to live with her soon. It will be a little stressful looking for a new place, but definitely worth it when she and Bellamy get to be together all the time.

She is also excited to become a mother. That part hasn't changed. Even if Bellamy hadn't wanted this, she would still love having a child. While she's not excited for some aspects of the pregnancy (and of course labor... no thank you), she is excited to have a little tiny Blake running around in nine months.

 

 


	14. Blushing Emoji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke tells Octavia about the baby, then they mess with Bellamy a little bit...

"So you said on the phone you had something to tell me? Abby says as she and Clarke sit down to lunch.

Clarke takes a deep breath as she sets her napkin in her lap, "Yeah... Umm, you're my mom so I want you to know first, I'm pregnant."

"You are?" Abby actually smiles, shocking Clarke. "And it's Bellamy's?"

"Yeah. He's moving out here soon, once he can find someone to take over his classes. And once we can find a new place..."

"There are some places in my neighborhood," Abby suggests.

"I don't know if I'd want to live in a gated community, mom. And there is no way we could afford it," Clarke says, taking a sip of her water.

Abby waves her hand dismissively. "Well I could help you out with that. I want my grandchild to have a nice home to grow up in. Not live in the crowded city," she jokes. Abby never understood why Clarke wanted to live downtown. There is much to many people and everyone there is snooty (her words not Clarke's).

Well that was easy, Clarke thinks.

"You'd really do that mom?" she asks.

"Of course. Bellamy seemed like a nice young man when I met him, and I think you two will make great parents. It would be a big plus for me to have my adorable grandchild so close."

"You have no idea how relieved that makes me."

"Were you worried you'd have trouble finding a place?"

"Incredibly. Bellamy will be so happy when I tell him."

"Do you two have any plans to get married?" her mother asks.

Whoop there it is...

"Not at the moment. But someday. We've talked about it."

"You never did do things the easy way Clarke."

She smiles, "It's just who I am."

\---

After such a great lunch with her mother, Clarke is starting to think today is her day. She calls Bellamy once she's back in her apartment and tells him that her mother is willing to help them out. Clarke and Bellamy are proud people, but are willing to put that aside for their child. They both know they're going to need all the help they can get.

Bellamy tells her that sadly the university can't get someone to take over for him for another four weeks, but that he will come to Denver as soon as they get someone.

After she hangs up with Bellamy, Clarke decides to call Octavia on skype.

"Clarkey! I was beginning to wonder when you'd call. It's been like two weeks!"

"Well I do have something very important to tell you," Clarke says.

Octavia's eyes widen, "What is it?"

"You can't tell anyone this, this is a secret." Octavia nods. "I'm pregnant."

"No fucking way! I'm going to be an auntie! Wait it is Bellamy's right?"

"Yes, O, this baby is his," Clarke laughs.

"Just checking." Octavia smiles wide and claps her hands, "I cannot believe this!"

"I haven't really told anyone yet, so you should feel special."

"Why haven't you told anyone?"

"You're supposed to wait until after the first trimester. I only found out two days ago. But you're like my sister so I had to tell you of course."

Octavia smiles sweetly, “Well I am honored you told me.”

“Of course. I need someone to report back to me all the dorky things Bellamy does now.”

“Who are you kidding, my brother is already a dork,” Octavia laughs.

“That’s true.”

“Oh my god he just texted me a bunch of the blushing smiley emoji...” Octavia tells her.

Clarke shakes her head with a laugh, “Good lord, what are we going to do with him...”

“He didn’t even explain the emojis he just sent them,” Octavia cannot stop laughing.

“I cannot believe I am having a child with a 30 year old man who uses the blushing emoji...”

\---

Clarke goes to the doctor and learns that everything is just fine. She is about six weeks along, which is more than she expected. Apparently she is just bad at counting and keeping track of dates. Before she went to her doctor’s office, she told Bellamy the time of her appointment. After sending a text to Octavia, their plan is set into action.

They decided the night before that they would play a trick on Bellamy. Clarke wouldn’t call him until a few hours after her appointment, and Octavia would be with him to watch him freak the fuck out about it.

 **he keeps ‘discretely’ checking his phone** , Octavia texts her.

Clarke replies with a few crying laughing emojis and waits for Octavia’s next update.

**he’s sweating this is too funny**

**oh my god now he’s setting his phone down and walking away... dramatic much?**

**i heard a sigh from the kitchen lol**

**i think he’s making tea wtf**

Clarke laughs before replying, **he does that when he’s stressed**

 **what a nerd** , Octavia texts back, **how am i related to him???**

Clarke tells her that she’s going to put him out of his misery and call him finally.

He answers on the first ring...

“Hey Princess,” he says nonchalantly, making Clarke laugh. “Why are you laughing?”

“Tell Octavia mission accomplished,” Clarke says between fits of laughter.

“Okay I’m confused...”

“Girl bonding,” she says. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Whatever you say, Princess. So how did it go?”

“Everything is fine. But apparently I’m six weeks along. That means you probably won’t be here for the first ultrasound...”

"Well that's okay. I'll be there for the next one."

"Oh my god..." she says quietly.

"What?"

She suddenly feels like crying, "I didn't- I didn't even realize it before..."

"What is it Princess? Talk to me."

"My due date is September 16th... That's my dad's birthday. It didn't even occur to me before... God I really am forgetting him." She runs her hand through her hair and sighs. “God sorry I was just supposed to call you and tell you the good news...”

“Hey, Princess this is still good news. Think how excited he would be if this baby is born on his birthday,” Bellamy says.

“Yeah?”

“Yes,” Bellamy states. "There's no reason to freak out. You know why I'm freaking out?"

"Why?"

"Because your mom suddenly likes me... Is that weird?"

"Totally weird. Why on earth would anyone like you? I don't get it..." Clarke says.

"Ha ha you're so funny," he deadpans.

"No but seriously, it's great that she likes you. I think she's just happy that she's getting a grandchild out of the deal so she's dealing with you because of how cute it will be," Clarke tells him.

"Again, great way to make a guy feel good about himself," Bellamy jokes.

“Oh come on, you know I love you.”

“Yeah yeah... Whatever you say, Princess.”

She laughs, “Well Bel, I’ve got to go. Raven is coming over soon to watch some movies and I have to go pretend I’m not pregnant.”

“Have fun,” he tells her.

“I love you, Bellamy. Tell Octavia I love her too.”

“O, Clarke says she hates you and never wants to talk to you again,” he calls to his sister. “Love you too, Clarke.”

She laughs before hanging up the phone and waiting for Octavia to text her about what Bellamy said.

Setting her phone down, she heads into the kitchen to get the snacks ready for movie night with Raven. She knows her best friend will bring ice cream (it’s sort of unspoken tradition at this point) so she makes popcorn and gets bowls for the chips.

Clarke realizes as she sits to relax on the couch that she feels great. She has her best friend coming over in a matter of minutes, a tiny little Blake growing inside her at this very moment, and now her mother will finally get off her back about her online boyfriend.

She can’t wait until the first trimester of her pregnancy is over. She can picture her friends reactions now; Raven will insist she be the godmother while Monty squeals about how cute the baby will be. She just knows that Jasper will make some comment about all the women in his life being pregnant, then ask Raven when she’s expecting. Clarke really should call Maya, the girl would just love a pregnancy buddy and their kids will probably be born only a month or so from each other.

Raven bursts through the door, interrupting Clarke from her thoughts.

“Who is ready for every sappy romantic comedy there is?” she calls as she plops onto the couch beside Clarke.

“You hate those kinds of movies.”

“Yeah, but you love them.” Clarke gives her a questioning look. “What? I can’t do something nice for my best friend?”

“Oh you can always do something nice for your best friend, but I insist we watch the third Transformers movie as well. Since that is your favorite.”

Raven pulls her in for a tight hug, “This is why I love you.”

“Yeah, I am pretty awesome.”


	15. Blob

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke goes to her doctors appointment without Bellamy, and Abby just loves to tease her daughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I feel like such a shitty person for abandoning this story for so long, so I am booting it up again. If you all hate me, I totally understand, but please accept this short little teaser chapter as an apology. I promise I will finish this fic and have a longer update with the fluffiest fluff ever either tomorrow or Wednesday.

Clarke feels terrible, she really does. Somewhere, deep (too deep for her liking) inside her, she feels horrible that Bellamy won’t be with her for the first ultrasound. But she’s just too darn happy to let any of that show. Bellamy doesn’t seem to mind, he keeps telling her that there will be quite a lot of these appointments and he will be at all of those so she needn’t worry about one measly ultrasound. Part of her knows he’s mostly telling that to himself, to make him feel better about it. 

She promised to send him pictures of the sonograms and record the heartbeat on her phone to send to him. 

Raven is oddly suspicious of her friend’s behavior, wondering why she has been so happy for the past few days. Clarke tells her to mind her own beeswax, let her just be happy for a change. 

The morning of her appointment, Clarke wakes up with her fail-safe alarm, knowing she only has thirty minutes to get ready. She quickly hops in the shower after checking the status of her baby bump (still almost nothing, she thinks to herself, just looks like you’ve gained a few pounds...). She throws her hair into a bun and pulls Bellamy’s hoodie over her head before heading to the parking garage and into her car. She’s surprised Bellamy hasn’t said anything about her driving around in that ‘deathtrap’ since she’s gotten pregnant. 

She had promised her mother she would stop by her office before her appointment, so Clarke goes through the Starbucks drive thru to get her and her mother something on her way to the hospital. Soon, she realizes the fatal flaw in her plan. You see, her car does not have cup holders, so she requests a drink holder and carefully balances it in her lap on her drive over. 

“Clarke!” Abby says when her daughter pops her head into her office. “Oh you didn’t have to bring me coffee.”

“Please mom, I know how you love a good white chocolate mocha. But I will have you know that it just about killed me having to smell it on the drive over knowing that I couldn’t drink it.”

“Consider it a lesson in self control then,” Abby says, taking sip from her cup. 

“Real funny, mom. Denying the pregnant lady her favorite drink.”

“Don’t you have an appointment to get to?” Abby asks with a laugh. 

“Oh sure, I give you your coffee and you can’t get rid of me fast enough.”

“Stop by after you’re done. I’ll take you to lunch,” she offers. 

“Somewhere real nice,” Clarke pokes her finger at her mother before exiting the room and walking down the hall to her appointment. 

Her doctor calls her back and she lays on the table, taking off her hoodie and jeans as she tries to control her eager smile for what’s to come. 

Clarke stares at the monitor, trying to read the ultrasound when all she really can see is blobs of black and blue. 

“This here,” her doctor says, pointing to a somewhat larger blob on the screen, “is your baby. Everything is still looking great for eight weeks along, now, would you like to hear the heartbeat?”

Clarke nods happily, pulling out her phone so she can record it for Bellamy. She can just picture him now, sitting at his desk while his students work, headphones in and that goofy smile on his face while he tries not to let it show. 

Tears well up in her eyes as she listens to the thumping of her child’s heart. She laughs a watery laugh as her doctor prints out the pictures for her to take home. 

Once she’s dressed again, she thanks her doctor and makes her way back to her mother’s office. 

“How did everything go?” she asks, turning her chair around to watch as Clarke sinks into her couch. 

“Everything is great, and you’re taking me to Cheddar's. Let’s go.”

Clarke stands and tells her mom that she’ll met her there before heading to the parking lot and to her car. After she’s gotten her seatbelt buckled, she looks at the sonograms from her appointment and begins to cry. She is feeling so many emotions all at once and they are flowing out in the form of tears. 

Her vision is blurred as she taps on Bellamy’s contact in her call log. He’s in class but she knows he’ll answer anyways. He always has. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, sorry to everyone who read this from the start and had to wait so long. I will make it up to you though, I promise.


	16. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke tells Bellamy about the doctors appointment and Bellamy prepares to leave and live with Clarke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter picks up right where the last one left off, so you might want to read that one again.

“Hey Princess, how’d it go?” he must hear her sniffling because he suddenly goes into Protective Bellamy Mode. “Hey hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she breathes. “Absolutely nothing. Everything is great, Bellamy.”

“Then why are you crying, Princess?” 

“I’m happy, but I feel terrible about it.” She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. 

“Why?”

“Because you’re not here to share it with me. That was so amazing, Bel. It’s just a tiny little blob on a screen but it’s our baby. A tiny living thing with it’s own heartbeat...”

He laughs, sounding a lot like she did in her appointment, “So you called me crying because you’re having an existential crisis?”

“I suppose so. I can’t wait for you to be here, to see... this. I’m sending you the pictures now.” She pulls the phone away from her ear and snaps a few pictures of the sonograms before texting them to Bellamy. 

She can hear the exact moment he opens them. The shaky breath he takes, and the cough he instinctively uses to cover it. “God you’re gonna make me cry, Clarke. And I have to go back into class looking like a hot mess.”

“That’s our kid, Bel...”

“That’s our kid. What a beautiful little blob,” she can hear the smile in his voice. 

“I’ll send you the audio of the heartbeat when we hang up, but I really should be going. I promised my mom she could take me out to lunch and I’ve been sitting in the parking lot crying like a crazy person.”

“Well go, go have your lunch. Call me when you’re home so we can cry together some more." 

"Will do," she says. "I love you, Bellamy Blake." 

"I love you too, Clarke Griffin." 

She hangs up the phone and wipes away her tears before making sure her makeup isn't totally ruined. 

When she gets to the restaurant, her mother is already there sitting at a table. 

Clarke orders ribs because she figures if there was ever an acceptable time to pig out on food, it would be now, and her mother orders salmon. Which Clarke thinks is such an  _ Abby Griffin _ thing to do. 

The rest of lunch goes well, even though Abby continues teasing Clarke. It feels good to be like this with her mother. Things haven’t been the best lately, Clarke is glad that their relationship is beginning to improve. It couldn’t come at a better time. Clarke knows that she will definitely need her mother now that she’s pregnant. 

*****

Bellamy feels terrible, he really does. Except that he definitely doesn’t. 

It’s just a little white lie, a fib even. His school didn’t say it would take four weeks to get his replacement, it will only take them two. Bellamy thinks surprising Clarke by getting to Denver early will definitely be worth it. But now he only has two weeks to get everything ready for his move across the country. 

He now only has two weeks to pack up all his things, change his address, get all his things cancelled here in New York... That’s only scratching the surface of all he has to get done.

The hardest will be saying goodbye to his sister, that much he knows. He and Octavia have always been together. They may not live together anymore, but it has always been Octavia and Bellamy against the world. It was always his plan to move in with Clarke eventually. He can get a job anywhere, there will always be a need for teachers. But Clarke is established where she is, it’s easier for him to leave New York and he’s always known that. However, it doesn’t make leaving his sister any easier. 

Octavia offers to come over to his apartment to help him pack, and he gratefully accepts her offer. He doesn’t have much stuff in his apartment- even if he does have a  _ ton _ of clothes and most of his other things are in the storage unit he and Octavia have- , but the company is good. 

“How does Miller feel about you leaving?” Octavia asks. She’s sorting through his closet, occasionally cringing at the clothes she pulls out.

Bellamy sighs, “I don’t know, he’s a man of few words. But it’s gonna suck.”

“Maybe he’ll use this opportunity to ask Brian to move in.”

“We can only hope.” Bellamy waits a few moments before asking, “How do  _ you  _ feel about me leaving?”

Octavia walks across the room to sit next to Bellamy on his bed, “Part of me wants to beg you to stay... I’m gonna miss you, you’re my family, Bel. But now you have Clarke, and a baby. You’ve got a new family.”

“You’ll always be my family, O.”

“I know that,” she says, bumping her shoulder against his. “You have a duty to them now. You’ll be a better dad than either of ours were. And I don’t need you to protect me anymore. Plus, the police are on to you here, go murder people in Denver.”

Bellamy barks out a laugh, “Are we ever going to drop that?” 

“Maybe when your kid is born.”

“Maybe?”

“Yeah, just maybe.”

Octavia gets up from the bed and walks back over to his closet.

“You know, when I invited you over, I didn’t think all you’d be doing was judging my sense of style,” he says.

“Yeah, well, if you had a better one I wouldn’t have to do this. Seriously, Bel, you have clothes from just after mom died. Do you ever get rid of anything?”

“Oh please, you can’t tell me you don’t keep every piece of jewelry you’ve ever gotten. Even the cheap earrings that turn your ears green.”

“Okay you have a point...”

Bellamy laughs and goes over to the closet to help Octavia. They finish packing most of his clothes, leaving the things he’ll need for his remaining time in New York. Miller gets back from work just as they’re finishing up, and the three call Lincoln, asking him to bring them all some dinner.

\---

The next week and a half fly by. Bellamy is constantly busy. He’s gotten everything taken care of at work, even had a few drinks with his coworkers to celebrate his leaving and new baby. He didn’t even tell anyone, one of the other history professors simply looked at him one day and guessed, said he had the ‘glow of a new father’. 

He has also gotten everything set up for his move which was a lot more complicated than he originally thought. It seems that no one else seemed to share his sense of urgency. 

He is also constantly on the phone with Clarke, he doesn’t want to miss anything with her pregnancy. He also spends a lot of time on the phone with her for a very different reason. It’s not something new to them, that much even Raven knows (Bellamy is still a little embarrassed about his first phone call with her... ) But now, Clarke is even more... excited. It makes Bellamy all the more eager to get to Denver. 

Just a few days before he is scheduled to leave, Octavia invites Bellamy over to her and Lincoln’s apartment for dinner, for his bon voyage party. 

They pig out on all the food Bellamy and Octavia used to eat as kids; tv dinners, store brand potato chips, and strawberry Fanta. 

“I can’t wait to come visit you, Bel,” Octavia says. They’re in the living room, watching some movies and finishing their food. “You’ll have to show us around the city.”

“Clarke will have to show me first,” Bellamy says.

“She didn’t take you anywhere while you were there over Christmas?” Lincoln asks.

Bellamy shrugs, “The only places we went were her mother’s house and to visit her friend Raven.”

“That sounds so boring. Didn’t you guys do anything else?” Octavia asks, a look of shock on her face.

“Well, we made a baby. I think that says enough.”

Octavia’s expression turns to one of disgust and Bellamy can’t help but laugh.

“It actually says a lot,” Lincoln says. “Considering you were only together for two days...”

“Can we stop talking about how the baby was made and talk about how cute my niece or nephew will be?” Octavia asks. 

“What? You don’t want to hear about me and Clarke having sex?” Bellamy asks, he never passes up an opportunity to tease his sister.

“No! I really don’t!” Octavia slaps her hands over her ears and shakes her head.

\---

The day Bellamy leaves for Denver, Octavia drives him to the airport. They don’t really say anything. Neither know exactly what to say. It had been the same way the previous night when Bellamy hung out with Miller at their apartment. It’s not goodbye, not forever at least, but Bellamy was shocked when Miller enveloped him in a hug before he left. Usually hugs between the two of them are initiated by Bellamy as a way to mess with Miller and invade his personal space. 

It’s hard leaving his life here behind, but he knows his new life with Clarke will be just as good. He’ll miss his sister and he’ll miss his best friend, while at the same time, he’ll be with his girlfriend and he’ll be with his child. 

Octavia holds onto Bellamy in a death grip when they finally reach the airport, and he holds on just as tight. They already said their goodbyes, knowing it would be too hard to do so at the airport. So Bellamy kisses Octavia’s forehead before walking inside. 

He told Clarke that he would be doing things at work all day, getting things taken care of, and that he wouldn’t be able to talk to her much. In reality, he can’t talk to her on the plane and he knows that if he called or texted her beforehand, he would spill everything. Today is an emotional day and he doesn’t really trust himself to keep quiet. 

He’s anxious for the entire flight and his leg won’t stop bouncing. His attempt to distract himself with a book proved to be ineffective, he simply couldn’t concentrate. All his thoughts went to Clarke. He was excited to see her, excited to see her surprised smile when she first sees him. He longs to hold her in his arms again and it feels great knowing that he will be able to do just that in a matter of hours. He wants to rest his hands on the bump Clarke has told him many times isn’t quite there yet. God, the anticipation is going to kill him! 

His fingers drum against his thigh as he waits for his bags after his flight.

His foot taps against the ground as he waits for a cab.

His leg bounces as he rides to Clarke’s apartment. 

His heart beats uncontrollably as he stands outside her door. 

His mind races after he knocks. 

And then she’s there, throwing open the door and staring at him, frozen in shock. Within an instant, she’s in his arms. Whether she moved first or him, neither will ever know.

“Oh my god, Bellamy,” she mumbles into his shirt. “What are you doing here? You said you wouldn’t be here for two more weeks!”

He can feel her tears against his neck and feels himself tearing up as well. “That was a lie. I wanted to surprise you.”

Clarke pulls back so she can look him in the eye and Bellamy gives her a bright smile. 

“So you’re here for good?” she asks, her voice quiet. 

He rests his forehead against hers, “Yeah, Princess. I’m here for good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter, leave me a comment if you did. Or leave me a comment to throw some shade at how long I took to actually get these last two chapters done.


	17. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Bellamy spend some time together before Abby interrupts.

“Princess, don’t you think we should go inside?” Bellamy asks. 

He feels her shake her head, “I don’t want to let you go.”

Bellamy chuckles and wraps his arms around Clarke’s waist, lifting her off the ground and walking into the apartment while using one foot to kick his bag inside as well. He walks them over to the couch and sits down with her in his lap. 

“What are we going to tell people when they ask why you’re here?” Clarke asks, lifting her head from his chest to look him in the eye. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if you came in two weeks like you told me you were, I’d be three months along. We’re waiting until then to tell people. But you’re here now,” she explains. “So what are we going to tell people?”

“We could just not tell anyone I’m here and stay in the apartment for two weeks,” he suggests with a smirk. 

Clarke giggles, “As fun as that sounds, I’m not sure my friends would let that happen. Eventually they would just barge in here. They have keys.”

Bellamy groans and leans his head back against the couch. “Could we go Les Mis on them and barricade the door?”

“That’s a fire hazard.”

“I guess we could tell them that I finally managed to save up the money to come here. It’s not a complete lie,” Bellamy shrugs. 

“Good enough for me,” Clarke says. She runs her hands through his hair, letting them rest on the back of his neck and pulling his head up to be level with hers. “I’m glad you’re here, Bel.” 

“Me too. I don’t want to miss anything else,” he whispers, his hand moving to rest on her stomach. 

For a while they just sit there, enjoying each other’s company with whatever show Clarke had on playing in the background. Clarke doesn't seem to want to move, content to lie on the couch for the time being. Bellamy certainly isn't complaining. He can't believe this is actually his real life. An amazing and beautiful girlfriend, a baby on the way. Any anxiety he still had from the flight here is long gone now. 

*********

Clarke is nearly asleep when her phone starts to ring, startling both her and Bellamy. 

“Hello?” Clarke says as she holds the phone up to her ear.

“Clarke, are you busy right now?” her mother asks. 

“Uhhh... Why?” 

“I talked to my realtor-”

“You did what?” Clarke asks, sitting up on the couch. Bellamy gives her a confused look so she pulls the phone away long enough to tell him, “It's my mom, she's talking about her realtor.”

“I don’t know why you sound so shocked,” Abby continues. “You did say you and Bellamy would be looking for a new place.”

“Yeah, we did but... I guess I didn’t think we would do that so soon,” Clarke tells her. 

“You’ll want to have a place and be all moved in before the baby is born. And it might be nice to come with me to look at houses so you can have options when Bellamy gets here.”

Clarke laughs. “Mom, Bellamy is already here,” she says. 

“He is? I thought he wasn’t coming for another two weeks.”

“He lied and said his job wouldn't let him go. He wanted to surprise me.”

Clarke hears her mother sigh. 

“What was that sigh for?” Clarke asks. 

“That was my 'I was incredibly wrong’ sigh,” Abby answers. 

“What were you wrong about?”

“Bellamy. I was wrong to judge him as harshly as I did. I'm glad he's the one you're having a baby out of wedlock with,” Abby teases. 

“Mom!” Clarke exclaims with a laugh. 

She hears her mother laugh on the other end, “I'm just joking. But I am glad you found him, Clarke.”

“Me too.”

“I'm also glad he's here. Now he can come with us to look at houses.”

Clarke sighs an overly dramatic sigh, “Alright, we'll meet you at your house in an hour.”

“We're getting a house?” Bellamy asks once Clarke has hung up the phone. 

“We're getting a house. How is this real?”

Bellamy moves his arm and holds it out in front of her, “I’m not sure if it is. Pinch me, just to make sure.”

“You’re an idiot,” Clarke says fondly as she rolls her eyes. She stands from the couch and pulls Bellamy up with her. He heads for her bedroom, definitely not expecting Clarke to pinch him. More specifically, pinch his ass. “There, now we know it’s real.”

Bellamy stands there in shock for a second before scooping Clarke up in his arms and dashing up the stairs, Clarke laughing all the while. 


End file.
